A fire ripped through a backpacker hotel next to Khao San Road in Thailand this evening killing a female tourist and leaving another in intensive care.

Flames sparked panic as they ripped through The Ember Hotel in the iconic backpacker district of Bangkok shortly after 9 pm local time.

Frantic staff evacuated 40 young holidaymakers from the hotel's rooftop bar before cherry pickers carried them down to safety.

Firemen fought their way into the building to the source of the blaze on the fifth floor while colleagues were battling the flames from outside.

They found a female tourist and a male who were both passed out from smoke inhalation in their room.

The woman was reportedly pronounced dead while a second tourist, a male who was unresponsive, was taken to the hospital to be treated in intensive care.

A fire service spokesman said: 'At 9.26 pm, fire crews arrived at the scene of the fire at a six-storey hotel building.

'The fire was on the fifth floor. There were two people trapped in a room. One was a male and the other a female.

'Hotel staff helped 40 people from the roof of the building and fire crews entered to extinguish the fire. Smoke was filling all of the top floors.'

The fire has now been brought under control.

Khao San Road is one of the busiest areas of Bangkok, with thousands of backpackers filling the street every night.

Situated in the Banglamphu area, near the Chao Phraya River, it has become a destination for travellers from around the world.

Rooms in Khao San Road budget hotels can be found for as little as 200 Thai baht (4.68GBP) a night.