Fire destroys floor at Myanmar embassy in Thai capital

Four fire engines rushed to the embassy as plumes of smoke rose from inside the walled compound, located in a busy business district of Bangkok.

A fire destroyed a floor at Myanmar's embassy in the Thai capital on Monday. Four fire engines rushed to the embassy as plumes of smoke rose from inside the walled compound, located in a busy business district of Bangkok. The blaze was put out in about one hour. No injuries were reported.

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A fire brigade official, Anupon Saengdara, said the cause was not known. But a man at the embassy identifying himself only as a consular official said faulty wiring sparked the fire.

Pol Lt Thanapat Sirawong said the blaze engulfed the second floor of the embassy's main, colonial-style building, totally damaging the floor and sections of the roof.

The area outside the compound is the site of frequent but peaceful demonstrations by Myanmar activists against the military regime in their neighboring homeland.

The visa section of the embassy is located in the building that caught fire. In the last three weeks, aid workers and others often crowded into the section trying to obtain hard-to-get visas to isolationist Myanmar to help victims of a devastating cyclone.