CHAIYAPHUM: Ten people being kept in isolation at a temple returned from Covid-19 tests on Wednesday morning only to find the building they stayed in had been hit by a landslide during their brief absence.
The incident occurred at Wat Khao Tham Phra, which is on Phaya For mountain in tambon Laem Thong of Phakdi Chumphon district.
A mass of earth and rocks had slid down the hillside and wrecked part of the single-storey monastery building being used as an isolation centre for local people suspected of Covid-19 infection.
The landslip occurred about 7.10am on Wednesday and followed days of rain in this northeastern province.
The 10 temporary residents escaped possible injury, or even death, only because they had left at 6am for Covid-19 tests at Phakdi Chumphon Hospital in the heart of the district. They returned about noon.
The temple abbott, Phra Boonsong Siritharo, said the landslide severely damaged the toilet block of the building, which was normally used to house monks.