Passengers were evacuated as a fire broke out at an airport in Bangkok.

Travellers fled as smoke filled Terminal 1 of the Don Mueang International Airport on Thursday afternoon.

Footage shows alarms sounding, sparking panic among tourists and employees.

They vacated the building as firefighters put out the fire, which reportedly started from a fan in a smoking room.

Passenger Thanakorn Padermprach said his flight on AirAsia AK 887 to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was delayed because of the incident.

He said: ‘At around 3 pm when I left my transport, I saw a flash of smoke.

‘When I was at a check-in counter waiting to load my baggage, the smoke started to build up before the alarm went off.

‘The employees closed the counter and told us to evacuate. Fire trucks later arrived, as seen in the video. It took 15 to 20 minutes before the situation was resolved.

'According to staff, an exhaust fan probably short-circuited and burned, causing smoke to drift inside and outside the building.'

Noocharoen, an employee of AOT Ground Aviation Services, said that the fire occurred at around 3:25 pm.

She said: ‘I was helping a passenger check in before I heard a fire alarm and saw smoke coming out from Gate No. 1.

‘As the situation worsened, I told my coworkers and the passengers in line to evacuate from the counter.

‘The airport quickly controlled the fire, and I was allowed to return to work at around 3:44 pm, although the smell of smoke was still lingering inside the building.

‘At first, I thought someone had playfully pressed the fire alarm because such incidents happen quite frequently. But when I saw smoke, I quickly escaped outside.

‘After the inspection, we found that the fire started from a fan in the smoking room.

‘Firefighters controlled the situation and disconnected the electricity.'