'Thank God, we fled': Thai grandmother returns to ruined home after border conflict

By Shoon Naing and Artorn Pookasook

KANTHARALAK, Thailand (Reuters) -After hearing that a nearby convenience store had been hit by shelling from Cambodia last week, Koon Kantho quickly packed her essentials, locked up her home and scurried to safety at a relative's house with her family.

Moments after they left, the 68-year-old said she heard a loud blast but didn't turn back to see what had happened. 

It wasn't until her son-in-law returned later that she learnt that her home in the Kantharalak district of Thailand's Sisaket province had been reduced to rubble by firing from across the border.

"Thank God, we fled," Koon said on Tuesday, as she walked through the debris of the structure that had sheltered her family of six, including her seven-year-old granddaughter, and also housed a small grocery store.

"If we hadn't fled, we would have perished."

Border communities in Thailand and Cambodia bore the brunt of the five-day conflict between the neighbours - the heaviest fighting between them in over a decade - before it was halted by a ceasefire agreement announced on Monday.

The border clashes, during which Thailand deployed F-16 fighter jets and Cambodia used BM-21 missile launchers, have left at least 40 people dead, many of them civilians, and displaced over 300,000 people on both sides.

With calm returning to the frontier, some residents like Koon - who also fled her house for a day during clashes in 2011 - are making their way back to their villages to see what is left of their homes and lives.

Thailand has estimated the initial costs of evacuation and damaged property at more than 10 billion baht ($307.88 million), Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said on Tuesday, adding the government is preparing an initial budget of 25 billion baht to mitigate the conflict's economic impact.

When she returned after the ceasefire announcement, Koon said her heart pounded as she saw her home reduced to splintered wood and twisted beams.

"I still have a lot of luck, if not I wouldn't be standing here," she said, almost in tears.

Walking through the debris of her home, Koon picked up a few precious mementos: a photo of the monk she prays to, a framed picture of a family member and her wristwatch.

Koon said she never imagined losing the home this way, and hopes that the government will step in to help.

"I don't know where I will live now," she said. "It's all gone, nothing is left."        

(Additional reporting by Athit Perawongmetha; Editing by Devjyot Ghoshal and Raju Gopalakrishnan)