23 individuals killed in fireworks factory explosion in Thailand

A big blast at a fireworks factory in Thailand has caused the death of 23 people, as per the local news.

The factory in Suphan Buri province, near Bangkok, appears to have been destroyed in the pictures from the scene.

Thai PBS news said that an explosion happened around 3:30pm in a village in Suan Taeng.

The news source said that the injured people were brought to Chao Phraya Yommarat Hospital, and the firefighters have now brought the fire under control.

Dr Ratthaphon Wetsanasuthee, a public health official, said that 23 people have died.

Kritsada Manee-In, a worker at the Samerkun Suphan Buri Rescue Foundation, said earlier that 15 to 17 people had died.

Channel 7 News said that 30 workers were in the factory. People nearby said they could hear the explosion from far away.

The explosion happened just before Chinese New Year, when people want to buy lots of fireworks in East and South-East Asia.

The head of the national police, Torsak Sukvimol, said that there was another explosion at the factory in November 2022, where one person died and three others were hurt.

We don’t know what caused today’s incident yet, so we are starting an investigation to find out.

Mr Sukvimol said they will take legal action if anyone does something wrong.

In July, a fireworks warehouse in southern Thailand exploded. At least 10 people died and 100 were hurt.

The leader of the province thinks that the problem happened because of sparks from welding work during construction in the building.

The Thai Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation says about 100 houses within a 1,640ft area were damaged.