Tourist Nearly Burns Down Thailand Apartment Block Frying Chicken

A Dutch tourist sparked panic at a Thailand apartment complex after falling asleep while cooking chicken, leaving a frying pan burning on the stove.

Fethullah Ezka, 30, had reportedly been drinking before preparing a late-night meal at his apartment in Laguna Beach Resort, located in the seaside city of Pattaya, on October 31.

According to reports, he then went to bed while the stove remained switched on and soon fell asleep.

Heavy smoke soon spread through the corridors, prompting residents to evacuate before police were called at about 4:30 a.m. local time.

Three fire engines arrived as smoke billowed through the building’s third, fourth and fifth floors.

Police officers moved from door to door, waking residents who were still asleep and helping them get out safely.

After searching for around 30 minutes, responders identified apartment 304 on the third floor as the source of the smoke. A powerful burning odor was coming from inside.

Using a spare key, condominium employees opened the apartment and found a pan filled with badly burned chicken still on the stove. Uncooked chicken remained on a cutting board nearby.

Ezka, meanwhile, was asleep in bed and appeared unaware of the emergency unfolding around him.

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Officers shouted repeatedly to wake him, but he failed to respond until they shook him awake.

The shirtless tourist was reportedly confused when he opened his eyes to find police and emergency workers inside his apartment.

He later told officers that he had been drinking before putting the chicken on to cook, then fell asleep and forgot to turn off the stove.

Firefighter Siriwat Prawit said: “After receiving a report of smoke inside the condominium, officers were sent to investigate and found it coming from room 304.

“When we entered, we found a burnt chicken in a frying pan on the stove.

“The foreign tenant was asleep inside the room.

“We called out to him several times, but he did not wake up until we shook him. He then woke up.”

No injuries or deaths were reported, although the incident caused considerable alarm among the building’s residents.

Pattaya remains one of Asia’s most popular tourist hotspots, while local emergency services say they are increasingly busy responding to incidents involving the growing number of visitors.