Massive explosion in Thai fireworks warehouse kills at least nine

A massive explosion swept through a fireworks warehouse in southern Thailand on Saturday, killing nine people and wounding more than 100, according to a senior official, while numerous neighbouring residences were destroyed or damaged.

The incident in Sungai Kolok, Narathiwat’s border province, is likely to have been caused by welding during building construction.

“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.”

The explosion affected a large region surrounding the facility. Local television footage showed a massive cloud of smoke billowing into the air, as well as countless stores, residences, and cars severely destroyed by the intensity of the bomb, some blazing and many with their roofs blasted off.

The death toll has been reported to be ten, however, this cannot be confirmed.

According to AFP photographs from the site, the warehouse has been reduced to rubble and twisted metal.

According to the Bangkok Post, the Ministry of Interior said that the explosion in the border town on the Malaysian border destroyed up to 200 dwellings. According to some reports, up to 500 dwellings may have been destroyed.

“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 (110 yards) away from the warehouse, told 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.”

Seksan’s video captured a chaotic scene at a small market serving the region near the Malaysian border, with disoriented citizens wandering around and rescue personnel hurrying to aid.

The ground is littered with broken glass, roof tiles, and other debris. Several market stalls were destroyed or badly damaged.

Explosions during firecracker and other pyrotechnics workshops are relatively uncommon in Thailand. Saturday’s tragic bomb came only five days after a fireworks factory detonated in the northern city of Chiang Mai, injuring 11 people.

The Southeast Asian monarchy also has a dismal safety record in the building industry, with fatal incidents occurring on a regular basis.

Two individuals were murdered last month when a bridge under construction in Bangkok fell onto traffic.