Explosion at Thai army bomb fuse factory

A huge explosion occurred at a Royal Thai Army (RTA) bomb fuse factory in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province causing a thick column of smoke in central Thailand at approximately noon today.

The factory makes fuses for explosive devices and is part of the Incendiary Factory Division, a Royal Thai Ordnance Department facility where explosives are made for Thailand’s armed forces in the Hantra subdistrict in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya district.

Several Ordnance Department fire engines rushed to extinguish the fire inside the factory. Outsiders were prohibited from entering due to it being a military area.

A female member of staff, in shock, said that she was about to take her lunch break when several explosions happened to create a huge cloud of smoke. She ran outside in fear and drove away from the factory in her car.

Reporters travelled to the scene to investigate however Ordnance Department Officials did not allow reporters to take pictures and did not give them any information.

The cause of the blast is unknown.

It’s unknown whether the explosion caused any injuries or fatalities.

The Thaiger will update the story once the RTA makes a statement.

No similar incident has occurred since October 2001 when a series of explosions ripped through the RTA ammunition depot in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong district causing a seven-hour fire.

At least 19 military personnel were killed and 90 more injured by rockets, mines and artillery shells, which happened during the movement of unserviceable ammunition.

Shortly after the first blasts occurred, 20,000 people were evacuated from Pak Chong district.

Then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said initial reports suggested the tragedy was accidental.

Then-Interior Minister Purachai Piemsomboon said a military truck exploded first causing a chain reaction as the truck was at arsenal No.5 where “hundreds of tons of ammunition were stored.”

The US Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs has called poorly maintained ammunition storage facilities a “growing humanitarian problem.”