Six adults and three children killed in catastrophic fireworks warehouse explosion in Thailand – with 115 more seriously injured
- Nine people were today killed in Thailand after fireworks warehouse explosion
At least nine people, including three children, were today killed after a powerful explosion ripped through a fireworks warehouse in Thailand.
The blast in Sungai Kolok, on the Malaysian border injured another 115 people, a senior official said, as nearby homes were damaged and destroyed.
The blast in the town of Sungai Kolok in the southern province of Narathiwat is thought to have been caused by welding during construction work on the building.
‘A warehouse storing firecrackers in Sungai Kolok exploded this afternoon, the latest number is nine dead and 115 injured,’ Narathiwat governor Sanan Pongaksorn told AFP.
‘The fire is now under control. Preliminary investigation suggests the cause is a technical error during the steel welding process, as the building is under construction.’
At least nine people, including three children, were today killed after a powerful explosion ripped through a fireworks factory in Thailand
Thai firefighters extinguishing a fire after an explosion at a firework warehouse in Sungai Kolok district
A victim of the firework warehouse explosion being carried on a stretcher to a hospital
Footage on local media showed a huge plume of smoke rising into the air and numerous shops, homes and vehicles badly damaged by the force of the blast – some ablaze and some with their roofs blown off.
AFP photos from the scene show the warehouse reduced to rubble and twisted metal.
Broadcaster Thai PBS reported that as many as 500 houses were damaged by the explosion in the border town on the frontier with Malaysia.
‘I was playing with my phone inside the house then suddenly I heard a loud, thunderous noise and my whole house shook,’ said eyewitness Seksan Taesen, who lives just 100 metres away from the warehouse.
‘Then I saw my roof was wide open. I looked outside and I saw house collapsing and people lying on the ground everywhere. It was chaos.’
Thai police, rescue crew and locals gather around destroyed homes after an explosion ripped through a firework warehouse in Sungai Kolok district in the southern Thai province of Narathiwat
Thai firefighters extinguishing a fire after the fireworks warehouse blew up
Video shot by Seksan showed a scene of turmoil at a local market, with dazed locals wandering around and emergency services rushing to help.
Broken glass, roof tiles and other debris litter the ground.
Thailand has a poor safety record in the construction sector and deadly accidents are common.
Last month two people were killed when a bridge under construction in Bangkok collapsed onto traffic.
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