A large fire ripped through a luxury pool villa being built in Thailand.

Builders were taking a lunch break at the construction site in Chonburi province when they noticed smoke wafting from the building's office area on May 25.

The blaze quickly had spread to the roof, prompting them to call firefighters for help.

Footage shows officers rushing in to hose down the inferno while thick grey smoke rose over the office.

The fire was extinguished after 30 minutes, but it had destroyed furniture, charred walls, and caused the ceiling to collapse on the property, which was being sold for the equivalent of 289,000 USD.

Authorities said a storage area at the back of the building had also been ravaged. They said the estimated damage was 'several million baht'.

There were no injuries reported.

A short circuit in the office electric panel is believed to have triggered the fire. Officials were investigating the case.

Construction worker Sitthikorn Aimsoongnoen, 26, said: 'I was resting beside the pool during break time when I noticed there were sparks and black smoke coming from the office room. I called the villa owner and notified the authorities since the fire was spreading rapidly.'

Banphot Muenkhan, 46, a friend of the villa owner, claimed the builders were using imported, high-quality construction materials worth more than 10 million THB (around 289,000 USD). Construction had begun around five months ago, he added.

The villa, which covers an area of 200 square wah (800 sqm.) had two single-storey buildings and a swimming pool.