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A Dutch tourist almost burned down an apartment block in Thailand when he fell asleep while frying chicken.
Fethullah Ezka, 30, was drinking alcohol before trying to cook dinner inside his apartment at the Laguna Beach Resort in the seaside town of Pattaya in the early hours of October 31.
But the intoxicated tourist reportedly passed out on his bed without switching off the stove.
Tenants fled the building as thick smoke began filling the corridors before police were alerted at around 4.30 am local time.
Three fire engines were dispatched as smoke spread across the third to fifth floors.
Officers went door-to-door, knocking on residents’ doors to wake those still asleep and ensure they escaped safely.
After a 30-minute search, they traced the source of the smoke to unit 304 on the third floor, where a strong burning smell was coming from inside.
Condominium staff used a spare key to enter the apartment and discovered a frying pan containing charred chicken still sitting on the stove, while raw chicken was left on a nearby cutting board.
Inside, Ezka was fast asleep on his bed, oblivious to the chaos around him.
Officers repeatedly called out to wake him and eventually had to shake him as he would not respond.
The shirtless Dutchman was reportedly bewildered to find police officers and emergency responders standing inside his apartment.
He reportedly admitted that he had been drinking before putting the chicken on to fry, but had fallen asleep and forgotten to turn off the stove.
“Upon receiving a report of smoke inside the condominium, officers were deployed to investigate and found smoke coming from room 304,” Firefighter Siriwat Prawit said.
“After entering the room, we found a burnt chicken in a frying pan on the stove.
“The foreign tenant was sleeping inside the room.
“We repeatedly called out to him, but he did not wake up until we shook him, and then he woke up.”
He said no injuries or fatalities were reported but the incident caused widespread panic among residents.
Pattaya has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Asia, but the emergency services say they are working overtime to keep up with the number of tourists running into problems.
