Thailand: 12 dead, 115 injured in explosion, blaze at fireworks warehouse
Thailand firework warehouse explosion claims lives of nine
A blast at a firework warehouse on Saturday, in Thailand claimed the lives of at least 12 people and wounded more than 100, the news agency AFP reported citing a senior official.
The explosion 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 earliertold 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," he added.
The footage shared by local media showed a huge plume of smoke engulfing the area and the devastation caused by the incident causingdamage to local shops, vehicles and homes.
According to broadcaster Thai PBS, as many as 500 houses were damaged by the blast in the border town on the frontier with Malaysia.
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"I was playing with my phone inside the house then suddenly I heard a loud, thunderous noise and my whole house shook," eyewitness Seksan Taesen, who lives 100 metres away from the warehouse, AFP.
"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."
Also read: Typhoon Doksuri: China issues red alert for torrential rain in Beijing, thousands evacuated
Thailand has a poor safety record in the construction sector and deadly accidents are common.
Two killed, 11 injured as under-construction elevated road collapses in Bangkok
Earlier, at least two people lost their lives and 11 others were injured after an elevated road in Bangkok collapsed on Monday (July 10). The elevated road had been under construction since 2020. The report said that authorities had launched an investigation to find out the reason for the collapse.
Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipan released a statement saying that the accident should not have happened. “Someone needs to be responsible for this because someone died...this wasn’t something unpreventable,” he added.
(With inputs from agencies)
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