BANGKOK: A housing community of Trok Pho in Yaowarat road, Samphanthawong district, in Bangkok’s China Town here, was destroyed by a fire last night.

The blaze started at 8.42 pm and was brought under control about midnight, causing a section of the busy China Town to be closed to traffic for a few hours.

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said the Trok Pho community was primarily made up of wooden houses and two-storey buildings surrounded by shophouses, with difficult and limited access.

“Last night, firefighters took over three hours to put out the fire due to the densely packed area. The fire affected three main groups – residents, mostly foreign tenants; the front buildings which the fire spread, and the nearby Thian Fah Foundation Hospital,“ he told reporters after inspecting the scene of the fire here Sunday.

He added that although the hospital building was not damaged, smokes had infiltrated the premises. Twenty-six elderly patients had been relocated to a temporary shelter at Wat Traimitr Withayaram Worawihan.

The fire destroyed 60 houses with no fatalities reported.