72-Year-Old Man Dies in Hut fire While Keeping Warm in Khon Kaen

Pictures courtesy of Daily News

A 72-year-old man died after a fire broke out in a small hut where he was lighting a fire to boil water and keep warm in Khon Kaen province on 29 January. The blaze spread rapidly, trapping him inside the hut in a sugarcane field in Khok Pho Chai district, and he was later found dead in the burned and collapsed structure.

Police from Khok Pho Chai station received a report of a body found in a fire-damaged hut west of Ban Sap Charoen village, Moo 10, Sap Sombun subdistrict. Officers, forensic staff from Region 4, an on-call doctor from Khok Pho Chai Hospital and rescue workers attended the scene to investigate.

At the site, police found the remains of a motorcycle and a hut that had been completely destroyed by fire. The body of Mr Thipchai Seenamburi, aged 72, was discovered on the ground under the hut, severely burned, with a charcoal stove and a pot used for boiling water located nearby under sheets of corrugated metal.

According to his son, Mr Arun Seenamburi, aged 30, the victim had lived alone in the hut for several years after his wife died decades ago. Although the family tried to persuade him to live in the village, he chose to remain near a pond in the sugarcane field, while his son stayed in another hut about 30 metres away and provided food daily.

Mr Arun said his father usually woke early to light a fire to boil water for coffee and to warm himself during cold weather. On the morning of the incident, he noticed smoke rising from his father’s hut and raised the alarm with neighbours and the village headman before a search was launched.

The son believed his father had tried to fetch water from the nearby pond to extinguish the fire but was overcome by smoke, collapsed and was trapped in the hut. He stated that the family had no doubts about the cause of death and believed it was an accident, with no other people involved.

Police chief Pol Col Phitakhet Singhaphithak said preliminary inquiries supported the family’s account. Neighbours told officers that the victim often stored plastic bottles, old motorcycle tyres and paper inside the hut, which likely acted as fuel and caused the fire to spread quickly.

Daily News reported that despite no suspicion of foul play, police said the body would be sent to the forensic department at Srinagarind Hospital for a detailed post-mortem examination. After the examination, the body will be returned to the family for funeral rites in accordance with local tradition.

Key Takeaways

• A 72-year-old man died in a hut fire on 29 January in Khok Pho Chai district, Khon Kaen.

• Police and family believe the fire was an accident caused while boiling water and keeping warm.

• The body will undergo a post-mortem at Srinagarind Hospital before funeral arrangements.

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Adapted by ASEAN Now from Dailynews 2026-01-30