Thailand fireworks manufacturing facility explosion kills at the very least 23, officers say

• An explosion occurred at a fireworks manufacturing facility in central Thailand, leading to at the very least 23 deaths.
• A precise depend of the deceased is troublesome because of the situation of the our bodies, in keeping with rescue employees.
• No survivors have been discovered, and an investigation of the manufacturing facility explosion is underway.

An explosion at a fireworks manufacturing facility in central Thailand killed at the very least 23 individuals on Wednesday, in keeping with provincial officers.

The loss of life toll was introduced by authorities with Suphan Buri province, the place the blast occurred in mid-afternoon. The Division of Catastrophe Prevention and Mitigation stated officers have been working to safe the positioning and assist affected individuals.

The reason for the explosion is being investigated. The blast got here lower than a month earlier than Chinese language New 12 months in February, when demand for fireworks is powerful.

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Rescue employees on the scene stated no survivors had been discovered. None have been talked about by provincial authorities, contradicting the division’s assertion that wounded individuals had been recovered.

Firefighters work on the positioning of an explosion at a firework manufacturing facility in Suphan Buri province, Thailand, on Jan. 17, 2024. Thai officers say the explosion killed at the very least 23 individuals. (Samekan Suphan Buri Basis by way of AP)

Suphan Buri is about 60 miles northwest of Bangkok, within the coronary heart of Thailand’s central rice-growing area.

The workplace of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, who’s in Switzerland for the World Financial Discussion board, distributed a video displaying him being instructed over the cellphone by the regional police commander that there have been 20 to 30 employees on the manufacturing facility on the time of the explosion and that none of them might be discovered.

Kritsada Manee-In, a rescue employee with the Samerkun Suphan Buri Rescue Basis, who earlier estimated that round 15 to 17 individuals had been killed, stated a precise depend was troublesome as a result of the our bodies have been in items.

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Images posted on social media confirmed a thick plume of black smoke over the scene. Images posted on-line by native rescue employees confirmed the manufacturing facility web site nearly leveled flat.

Nationwide police chief Torsak Sukvimol confirmed native information experiences that there had been one other explosion on the manufacturing facility in November 2022 that killed one employee and severely injured three others.

He stated police would pursue authorized motion for any wrongdoing concerned.

In July final 12 months, a big explosion at a fireworks warehouse in southern Thailand killed at the very least 10 individuals and wounded greater than 100, in keeping with officers.

That explosion in Narathiwat province was in a residential space and broken about 100 homes inside a 1,640-foot radius, in keeping with the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

The Narathiwat governor stated that blast was doubtless ignited by development work within the warehouse, with sparks from metallic welding inflicting the fireworks saved inside to catch fire and explode.