One dead in Bangkok hotel blaze

A fire at a major tourist hotel in Bangkok killed one foreigner and injured about 20 others, as rescue workers used cranes to pluck guests from the smoke-filled building, officials said on Friday.

Firefighters rushed to the scene after the blaze broke out in a function room at the 221-room Grand Park Avenue Hotel off the Sukhumvit Road in the Thai capital on Thursday evening.

“A female foreign tourist died from suffocation,” said Suvinai Busrakamwongs, director of the Kluay Nam Thai hospital. The victim’s nationality was unknown because she had no identification, he said.

“Another male Western tourist is in intensive care,” Suvinai added. He was unconscious and his condition was worsening, the hospital said.