American pensioner, 74, killed in house fire in Thailand

An American pensioner was killed in a house fire believed to be triggered by a paint can explosion in Thailand.

Stephen Alan Wilson, 74, from Washington, was alone in the single-storey wooden property when a paint bucket reportedly ignited in Kanchanaburi province on July 3.

Police Captain Suphakorn Panitcharoen of the Tha Muang Police Station said cops were notified by Stephen's neighbours, who heard an explosion from his home at around 1 am.

Firefighters arrived at the scene and extinguished the inferno after it spread rapidly due to the house's wooden construction.

They found Stephen's charred remains lying sideways on the floor, holding a metal rod.

The American's friends told police that he had been renting the house for two years with his Filipina wife, an English language teacher in Bangkok.

However, she left him alone to see her family on a 10-day visit to the Philippines.

His Thai friend, Sathaporn Chaokhoksoong, 32, said: 'He was like a neighbor to me. He would always message me on Line to fix his car or his boat. When he is alone, he lives like a pensioner and enjoys making wooden handicrafts or travelling on his motorcycle. When his girlfriend is here, they would go on road trips together.'

Meanwhile, Police Captain Suphakorn said CCTV footage, an electric control box, and a metal rod were collected from the scene as evidence.

He said: 'The deceased has been transferred to the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Police General Hospital for a post-mortem examination and will be kept there until his family is notified.

'We suspect that the explosion may have been caused by paint buckets, but we will conduct a thorough investigation to determine the exact cause.'