WATCH: Maltese Couple Caught In Chaos After Fire Rips Through Popular Thailand Tourist Spot
A Maltese couple managed to escape unscathed after they were caught up in a stampede of people escaping a massive fire that had broken out on one of the Phi Phi islands, a popular tourist hotspot in Thailand.
“We went out to eat at around 9:30pm, but soon got caught up in a group of panicked people, all with bags on their backs, who were clearly running away from something,” Clayton Darmanin told TVM. “We then saw that a nearby hotel had caught fire and could hear people being told to jump off their balconies. There aren’t any cars or fire engines on the Phi Phi Islands, so the fire was being treated by a group of regular people with buckets and hosepipes.”
Darmanin and his girlfriend Thea Montanaro then hid in a safe location for a while but re-emerged when they felt the situation had calmed down.
“We went back to see what was going on and a stampede of people just ran towards us. Everyone was pushing each other and panicing…I have never felt so scared in my life.”
The fire started in the kitchen of the October Hostel and then ripped through around 25 shops and bungalows. Three Thais and six foreign tourists were injured jumping for their lives from the buildings.