Police investigate blast in Northeast Thailand that killed lecturer

Police in Northeast Thailand are investigating a blast that tragically killed a university lecturer in Sakhon Nakhon province’s city district on Friday. Police say the lecturer, 41 year old Pichai Srimanta, was killed when doing a research project to extract oil from plastic waste at a garbage dump, where the explosion happened.

A worker who witnessed the tragedy said the extraction machine had been stopped so that the 2 furnaces could cool down. Suddenly, he heard a loud bang. The cover of one of the furnaces went flying, and hit one of the lecturers.

The director of the municipal public works office, Rungroj Khotprom, said yesterday that the site had 2 furnaces for extracting oil. He said steam pressure in one of the furnaces blew off its steel cover, which hit Pichai, killing him on the spot.

Pichai’s colleague was slightly injured. The colleague was rushed to a local hospital, while Pichai’s body was transported to Srinagarind Hospital in Khon Kaen for a post-mortem examination, according to Mayor Komut Theethananon.

The police chief of Sakhon Nakhon’s city district said the explosion might have been caused by a mechanical malfunction. Police believed the pressure inside the large, hot furnace might have caused the explosion. Mayor Komut said yesterday that he regretted Pichai’s death.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post