Landfill fire covers district of eastern Thailand province with smoke

A landfill fire covered a district of a province in eastern Thailand with smoke on Monday.

The thick blanket of smoke engulfed Sa Kaeo province’s main city district in the afternoon after the city’s main landfill caught fire. Nation Thailand reported yesterday that, as of press time, the fire still had not been fully extinguished due to heavy winds. It took more than 30 fire trucks and several hours of intense firefighting just to bring the flames under control.

According to officials, the landfill, which spans over 43 rai (6.88 hectares) and contains around 50,000 tonnes of waste, also housed more than a thousand stray dogs. While many hope that the dogs managed to escape, the situation remains uncertain.

The cause of the inferno was believed to be sparked by burning sugarcane fields. The PM2.5 reading as of press time was 73…