Rescuers retrieve 8 bodies from Saraburi factory fire, 2 still missing
Third-floor workers hardest hit as flames race through building
A rescue team successfully brought a fire at a tissue factory in the central province of Saraburi under control and retrieved eight bodies from the scene. Two other victims remain missing.
The blaze reportedly broke out at the tissue paper factory in the Hemaraj Industrial Estate, located in Bua Loi subdistrict, Nong Khae district, Saraburi province, at around 12pm yesterday, June 30.
The sky above the 16,000-square-metre factory was engulfed in thick black smoke. The fire spread rapidly as the tissue paper served as fuel.
Thai PBS reported today, July 1, that the three-storey factory, used as a production plant, storage facility, and office, was almost entirely destroyed. The fire started while around 100 workers were on duty. Most managed to escape, but some working on the second and third floors became trapped inside.
Family members of the workers rushed to the scene to follow the rescue efforts closely, anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones.
The mother of a missing woman named Kotchaphan told Channel 3 that her daughter had been working on the third floor.
She said she tried to call her, but there was no answer. The woman reportedly clung to the factory’s front fence for hours, waiting for an update from officials.
Another woman, the mother of a missing worker named Sukanya, broke down in tears during an interview with Channel 3. Unable to stand unaided, she vowed to remain at the site until she received news about her daughter.
At 4.25pm yesterday, the Facebook page, Fire & Rescue Thailand, reported that the rescue team discovered the first body.
By around 9pm, firefighters had successfully brought the situation under control. Rescuers later found seven more bodies, two on the second floor and five on the third floor.
Sadly, two victims are still unaccounted for. The identities of the deceased and missing persons have not yet been released to the public.
According to Thai PBS, more than 20 workers were injured in the incident, most suffering from smoke inhalation and burns. Only one person has been discharged from the hospital, while the others remain under medical care.
Officials have not yet determined the cause of the fire. Investigators will examine the site, particularly the production and storage areas, which are suspected to be the point of origin.
The factory’s management board informed the media that both the factory and its workers were covered by insurance. The board also pledged to compensate the families of those who were killed or injured in the fire.
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