Death toll rises to 12 in Thai warehouse explosion

BANGKOK — The death toll from a powerful explosion that leveled an unlicensed fireworks warehouse in southern Thailand rose to at least 12 on Sunday, the local governor said as police sought the owner on charges of negligence.

The blast on Saturday afternoon in the town of Sungai Kolok was believed to have been caused by welding during construction work on a building storing fireworks illegally.

More than 100 people were injured in the blast that left only twisted metal beams still standing as rescue workers rummaged through the debris, with local media reporting that hundreds of homes were also seriously damaged.

"We have identified 10 people and found parts of two bodies which we cannot identify yet," Narathiwat provincial governor Sanan Pongaksorn told a news conference on Sunday.

Police said they were investigating the cause of the explosion in the building, adding they believed it was not licensed to store fireworks.

Narathiwat police commander, Police Major General Chalermporn Khamkhiew, said shortly before the explosion firecrackers had been delivered to the warehouse.

"We are investigating if those firecrackers were transported legally or illegally," he said.

"As of now, we do not see any license for possession of firecrackers or firecracker sales," he said.

"We assume the factory has no license."

The blast detonated from roughly 1,000 kilograms of gunpowder, he said, causing two holes roughly 2 meters deep and 6 meters wide.

"We have issued a summons to the owner of the factory with the charge of negligence, which caused the accident," said Colonel Suthawet Thareethai, police chief of Muno district.

"We are waiting for him to come," he said.

Officials said a command center had been established not far from the incident, and authorities had already received 365 complaints from those who had been injured, or had their homes and property damaged.

Schools damaged

"Some government offices and private schools were also damaged," officials added.

Police said out of the 115 injured in the blast, 106 people had been discharged. The condition of those remaining in the hospital was not known.

The fire was brought under control late on Saturday.

The army would assist in the cleanup operation, said Southern army commander Lieutenant General Santi Sakhutanark. "We will provide crew and equipment," he said.

Eyewitnesses reported a huge noise on Saturday.

"I was playing with my phone inside the house when I suddenly heard a loud, thunderous noise and my whole house shook," Seksan Taesen, who lives 100 meters away from the warehouse, told Agence France-Presse.

"Then I saw my roof was wide open. I looked outside and I saw houses collapsing and people lying on the ground everywhere. There was chaos."

Explosions at workshops producing firecrackers are not uncommon in Thailand.

Saturday's blast comes just five days after 11 people were reportedly injured when a fireworks factory exploded in northern Chiang Mai City.

Xinhua