Tourist Accidentally Burns Down RM457,000 Villa While Trying To Chase Away A Spider
When someone takes the "burn down the house" meme literally.
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A holiday in Bali took a disastrous turn on 5 October after a tourist accidentally burnt down a luxury rental property worth approximately USD112,000 (RM457,160) while attempting to scare away a spider using a makeshift torch
The incident occurred in the popular resort district of North Kuta, located in southern Bali, Indonesia.
Gaorap Rana, a 45-year-old visitor from Nepal, reportedly spotted a spider spinning a web inside his villa's bathroom.
Hoping to drive the arachnid away without touching it, Rana lit a piece of paper on fire before stepping out of the bathroom into an adjacent workroom.
However, gusty coastal winds swept the burning paper onto the building's traditional thatched roof.
The roof, constructed using alang-alang, a highly combustible local grass widely used in traditional Balinese architecture, ignited almost instantly
Combined with hot, dry weather conditions, the flames swept through the structure within minutes, leaving behind charred wooden beams, blackened walls, and destruction.
"After burning the paper, the victim left the bathroom and went to the work room," Badung Police spokesperson Ipda Ni Nyoman Yuni Eltari told The Bali Sun.
"The burning paper was apparently carried by strong winds and caught the thatched roof."
A Balinese house with an 'alang-alang' grass roof.
Image via Soudha J./PexelsEyewitnesses recorded thick plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky as residents rushed to douse the inferno with garden hoses
Although emergency response teams arrived shortly after, the villa was already destroyed. Firefighters prevented the flames from spreading to nearby properties.
Rana escaped the blaze unharmed, and emergency responders reported no injuries among neighbours or bystanders.
Local medical experts said that while venomous spider species exist in Indonesia, they are reclusive and rarely encountered inside tourist accommodations
Most common house spiders found across Bali are completely harmless to humans.
Indonesian authorities have not confirmed whether Rana will face criminal charges or financial liability for the property damage.
