At least 10 people were killed and more than 100 injured in a fireworks warehouse explosion in southern Thailand on Saturday, authorities said.
The explosion – which occurred in the Sungai Kolok district of Narathiwat, a province bordering Malaysia – is believed to have been caused by welding sparks during construction work on the building.
“We have identified 10 people and found parts of two bodies that we have not yet been able to identify,” Narathiwat provincial governor Sanan Pongaksorn told a news conference on Sunday.
“We are sending forensics to do DNA tests,” he added.
The previous balance accounted for nine deaths.
A wide area surrounding the depot was devastated. Videos recorded by local media showed a column of smoke, as well as several stores and homes with roofs torn off, and vehicles severely damaged by the force of the explosion, some on fire.
Afp photos show the scene of the event where the warehouse was reduced to rubble and twisted metal.
The Bangkok Post, citing the Interior Ministry, reported that some 200 homes were damaged.
These types of explosions in warehouses or workshops that produce fireworks or other pyrotechnics are not unusual in Thailand.
The explosion this Saturday comes just five days after another 11 people were injured in the explosion at a similar factory in the northern city of Chiang Mai.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project