Authorities in Su-ngai Kolok district of Thailand’s Narathiwat province have seized about a ton of fireworks from shop houses, located about 150 metres from a fireworks warehouse at which there was an explosion on Saturday, killing 12 people and injuring about 120 others. The explosion and subsequent fire also damaged about 300 houses in the warehouse’s neighbourhood.
Invoking martial law, which is still in force in Narathiwat due to the unrest, troops and provincial police searched four adjoining shop houses, selling farming equipment and belonging to Sompong, the owner of the ill-fated fireworks warehouse in Muno sub-district.
They found 133 cardboard boxes and 20 sugar sacks containing fireworks and pyrotechnic materials, with a combined weight of about a ton. Moreover, a subsequent search of a shop selling fishing equipment opposite uncovered an unspecified quantity of fireworks.
Authorities claim that all the seized fireworks are illegal.
Meanwhile, officials from the Provincial Electricity Authority have been trying to repair high-tension power lines, damaged in the explosion, and restore the electricity supply to the neighbourhood. They said that it will take some more time before power can be restored.
Mongkolchai Somudon, deputy permanent secretary of the PM’s Office, said that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed relevant agencies to provide emergency help to the victims, including assistance with funeral costs, financial support for families whose members were killed or injured in the incident plus construction materials for house repairs.
