Current:Home > BackThailand fireworks factory explosion kills at least 20 people-InfoLens
Thailand fireworks factory explosion kills at least 20 people
View Date:2024-12-23 21:30:02
Bangkok — An explosion at a fireworks factory in central Thailand killed at least 20 people on Wednesday, the government's disaster relief agency said. People were also injured in the incident, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said, but but it did not say how many.
Officials were working to secure the site in Suphan Buri province and help people who were impacted, the department said. The cause of explosion was being investigated.
Suphan Buri is about 60 miles northwest of Bangkok, in the heart of Thailand's central rice-growing region.
The office of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, who is in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum, distributed a video showing him being told over the phone by the regional police commander that there were 20 to 30 workers at the factory at the time of the explosion and that none of them could be found.
Kritsada Manee-In, a rescue worker with the Samerkun Suphan Buri Rescue Foundation, who earlier estimated that around 15 to 17 people had been killed, said an exact count was difficult because the bodies were in pieces.
Photos posted on social media showed a thick plume of black smoke rising over the scene of the blast in an otherwise unoccupied rice field. Photos posted online by local rescue workers showed the factory site virtually leveled flat aside from debris and body parts.
National police chief Torsak Sukvimol confirmed local news reports that there had been another explosion at the factory in November last year that killed one worker and seriously injured three others. He said police would pursue legal action for any wrongdoing involved.
The blast, the cause of which was not immediately clear, came less than a month before Chinese New Year in February, when demand for fireworks is strong.
In July last year, a large explosion at a fireworks warehouse in southern Thailand killed at least 10 people and wounded more than 100, according to officials.
That explosion in Narathiwat province was in a residential area and damaged about 100 houses within a 1,640-foot radius, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.
The Narathiwat governor said that blast was likely ignited by construction work in the warehouse, with sparks from metal welding causing the fireworks stored inside to catch fire and explode.
- In:
- Thailand
- Fireworks
- Explosion
veryGood! (841)
Related
- DWTS’ Sasha Farber and Jenn Tran Prove They're Closer Than Ever Amid Romance Rumors
- Powerful earthquakes leave at least four dead, destroy buildings along Japan’s western coast
- Access to busy NYC airport’s international terminal restricted due to pro-Palestinian protest
- Ringing in 2024: New Year's Eve photos from around the world
- Gavin Rossdale Makes Rare Public Appearance With Girlfriend Xhoana Xheneti
- Owen the Owl was stranded in the middle the road. A Georgia police officer rescued him.
- Carrie Bernans, stuntwoman in 'The Color Purple,' hospitalized after NYC hit-and-run
- Hack, rizz, slay and other cringe-worthy words to avoid in 2024
- Trump ally Steve Bannon blasts ‘lawfare’ as he faces New York trial after federal prison stint
- Horoscopes Today, December 31, 2023
Ranking
- Summer I Turned Pretty's Gavin Casalegno Marries Girlfriend Cheyanne Casalegno
- Plane catches fire on runway at Japan’s Haneda airport
- Venezuela says troops will stay deployed until British military vessel leaves waters off Guyana
- Ex-gang leader makes his bid in Las Vegas court for house arrest before trial in Tupac Shakur case
- Vermont man is fit to stand trial over shooting of 3 Palestinian college students
- Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s New Year’s Eve Kiss Will Make Your Head Spin ’Round
- Hail and Farewell: A tribute to those we lost in 2023
- A boozy banana drink in Uganda is under threat as authorities move to restrict home brewers
Recommendation
-
Video ‘bares’ all: Insurers say bear that damaged luxury cars was actually a person in a costume
-
Amy Robach Reveals What She's Lost Amid Divorce From Andrew Shue
-
Anderson Cooper on freeing yourself from the burden of grief
-
Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean and Wife Rochelle Officially Break Up After 12 Years of Marriage
-
Ryan Reynolds Clarifies Taylor Swift’s Role as Godmother to His Kids With Blake Lively
-
What you've missed. 2023's most popular kids shows, movies and more
-
Hail and Farewell: A tribute to those we lost in 2023
-
Ashes of Canadian ‘Star Trek’ fan to be sent into space along with those of TV series’ stars