15 victims of Suphan Buri fireworks plant blast identified

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In: South-East Asia

PUBLISHED : 19 Jan 2024 at 15:02

15 victims of Suphan Buri fireworks plant blast identified
Rescue volunteers and officials enter an area where the debris of the firework factory explosion on Wednesday was located to search for evidence in a photo posted on Thursday. (Photo: Ruamjai Suan Taeng Suphan Buri Association Facebook)

Forensic police have identified 15 of those killed by an explosion at a fireworks factory in Suphan Buri and expect to finish the process by Saturday.

Pol Lt Gen Trairong Phiwpan, chief of the Police Forensic Science Office, said on Friday 15 bodies of plant workers and others killed by the blast had been confirmed and the identification process for eight others would finish no later than Saturday.

The identification of bodies is being conducted at Wat Rong Chang in Muang district, set up as the main centre to facilitate the work of officials and help the families of blast victims.

The explosion took place on Wednesday afternoon and took the lives of 23, including the wife and son of the plant owner.

Authorities yet to pinpoint the cause of the blast as they collect evidence at the scene to send to a forensic lab for determination.

The blast in Suphan Buri was the second fatal explosion at fireworks factories in less than a year. An explosion at a factory in Sungai Kolok district in Narathiwat in July last year claimed 11 lives and injured 389 others.