Thai man killed in gas cylinder explosion during fire drill at sugar factory
A fire instructor lost his life today in a gas cylinder explosion during a safety drill exercise at the Thai Identity Sugar Factory in the northern province of Uttaradit.
Uttaradit Municipal Office authorities conducted the fire drill at the factory at around 9am today, November 22. According to the Uttaradit Provincial Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department (UTT DDPM), the drill instructor, Surachart Buppha, was in charge of demonstrating how to deal with a gas cylinder fire.
While Surachart was demonstrating how to turn off the gas cylinder that caught fire, an explosion occurred, killing Surachart on the spot. No other injuries were reported as a result of the explosion.
The UTT DDPM said the cause of the explosion was due to the age of the gas cylinder. The cylinder had been refilled and used for a long time in the fire drill.
The official Facebook page of Fire & Rescue Thailand shared pictures of the incident. Some netizens pointed to the exploded cylinder and said that the training team might have adjusted the cylinder to facilitate their training and that the adjustment might have been a reason for the explosion.
Further investigation into the cause of the incident is continuing and the victim’s body is undergoing an autopsy.
In related news, another explosion took place during a fire drill at Rajavinit Mathayom School in Bangkok in June this year. In that incident, a fire extinguisher exploded while instructors and students surrounded the site to watch the fire extinguishing demonstration.
A Grade 12 male student, Khumthong Premmanee, lost his life in the incident, while more than 10 other students were injured. The incident caused panic among the people and the loss raised awareness in all departments to check their equipment before the drill. However, a similar explosion still made the headlines.
