Nine Killed As Blast Rocks Thai Warehouse

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

BANGKOK (Worthy News) – Residents in southern Thailand were mourning Sunday after authorities said at least nine people, including three children, were killed in a blast at a market’s illegal fireworks warehouse.

Saturday’s explosion shaking Sungai Kolok, on the Malaysian border, also seriously injured some 120 people and is thought to have been caused by construction work, authorities said.

The firecrackers exploded and set off a fire at “the unauthorized warehouse” at the Muno market in Sungai Kolok district, in the southern province of Narathiwat, Narathiwat’s governor Sanan Phongaksorn said.

More than 120 people were sent to the hospital, Sanan said, adding that most of them had since returned home.

He told reporters that the blast also damaged more than 200 houses surrounding the warehouse, affecting 365 people.

About 20 to 30 families had to stay at a shelter overnight, but by Sunday, many could leave to stay with relatives, local officials explained.

However, survivors made clear they were shocked by what they had seen.

THUNDEROUS NOISE

“I was playing with my phone inside the house, then suddenly I heard a loud, thunderous noise, and my whole house shook,” said Seksan Taesen, who lives 100 meters (109 yards) from the warehouse.

“Then I saw my roof was wide open. I looked outside, and I saw a house collapsing and people lying on the ground everywhere. It was chaos.”

Thai media reported that as many as 500 houses were damaged by the blast. Broken glass, roof tiles, and other debris littered the ground, witnesses saw. Several market stalls were shredded or otherwise heavily damaged.

The blast renewed debate about explosions at workshops producing firecrackers and other pyrotechnics in Thailand. Saturday’s deadly blast comes five days after 11 people reportedly were injured when a fireworks factory exploded in the northern city of Chiang Mai.

The Southeast Asian kingdom also 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. Local Governor Sanan Phongaksorn said Saturday’s “fire is now under control.”

He added that “Preliminary investigation suggests the cause is a technical error during the steel welding process, as the building is under construction.”

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