Toilet and bathroom destroyed as septic tank explodes – 1 person injured

A Lampang loo has exploded, blowing out the bathroom door and a hole in the roof. One female family member was injured in the explosion. The Sawang Nakorn Lampang Thammasathan volunteer rescuers arrived at the commercial premises in downtown Lampang on Sunday. The downstairs area was rented by a company selling cleaning equipment. Lampang is just south of Chiang Mai.

The emergency responders found a scene of devastation. The toilet door had been blasted away and the bits and pieces of broken toilet and the bathroom door were strewn around the adjacent kitchen. The actual toilet was in pieces and all the windows had been blown out as well, leaving a trail of broken glass around the area. Some of the tiles on the wall of the bathroom were also blown off in the blast. Food in the kitchen had also been littered around the room, along with dishes and glassware.

The injured woman had already been taken to hospital by the time the rescue team arrived. There was a big hole in the floor and the force of the explosion had blown a hole in the roof as well.

Investigators first suspected a gas leak but officials from PTT Lampang came to inspect the scene and found the gas pipes and system to be working normally and not involved in the incident. They later speculated that the building’s septic tank had built up so much pressure from the gasses trapped inside, it exploded in the only direction it could – up.

Police now believe that gasses in the septic tank were leaking into the kitchen of the property and a spark had ignited the explosion. Police say that it was lucky no one was actually sitting on the toilet at the time of the explosion. The woman, who was thought to be in the kitchen at the time, remains in hospital but her injuries were not life-threatening.

SOURCE: Thai Residents | Sanook.com