KANCHANABURI -- A fire at a piggery in Lao Khwan district early on Thursday killed more than 2000 breeding sows and young hogs, police said.
The fire began at the farm at Moo 8 village in tambon Lao Khwan a few minutes after midnight. Fire trucks from Lao Khwan and municipalities nearby responded.
The fire fighters, farm workers and rescuers from a charity foundation found it difficult to put down the fire because the farm building floor was made with plastic chips. They rushed to open the doors and pen gates so the pigs could escape, but many were trapped by the flames and smoke.
When the fire was finally brought under control two hours later, the charred bodies of more than 2,000 pigs were found in their pens - about 800 female breeding pigs and 1,240 offspring.
The farm owner, Chief Warrant Officer Prapai Jitniyom, 54, a soldier of the 6th Engineering Battalion in Ratchaburi, said he was awoken from his sleep by a strong smell of burning materials. The building and pens were already engulfed in flames.
He estimated his loss at about 25 million baht.
The cause of the fire was being investigated. It was initially believed to be an electrical short circuit.