Four people died when a fire swept through a nightclub frequented by foreign tourists on the Thailand's resort island of Phuket.

Police Col Jirapat Phothanaphan said the nationalities of the dead were not yet known, but both Thais and foreigners were among 11 people injured.

Col Jirapat said the fire broke out about two hours before dawn at the Tiger Disco in Phuket's popular Patong beach area.

He said the cause of the blaze was not yet known, but authorities suspected heavy rain that led to sparks at a nearby electricity transformer may have triggered it.

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