NAKHON RATCHASIMA: An elderly woman died in a fire that destroyed a row of two-storey wooden houses at a community market of Pak Thong Chai district on Sunday afternoon.
Pol Col Chanat Kawikhaochalad, the Pak Thong Chai police chief, said the fire started about 4pm in one of the rowhouses in the Muang Pak community market on Si Polrat road in Muang Pak Municipality.
About 50 fire engines and crews from the municipality and nearby districts battled the blaze, which spread very quickly through the entire row of houses.
The fire was brought under control in about an hour, but only after almost the enire row of houses was destroyed.
An 80-year-old woman, Sriwan Keyurapan, a lottery vendor, was found dead in the house where the fire started. Her body was sent to Pak Thong Chai Hospital for examination.
Police said damage to the buildings was initially estimated at 70 million baht.