One person was killed in a huge fire at a gas tank at an industrial site in eastern Thailand on Thursday, and hundreds of people had to be evacuated, authorities said.
The fire started around 10:30 a.m. (0330 GMT) at the industrial port of Maptaphut in Rayong province, they said.
Four people were injured, one of whom later died from his injuries, the Industrial Sites Authority of Thailand (IEAT) said, adding that the cause of the incident was not yet known. the fire.
Videos broadcast by local media showed large clouds of black smoke and flames escaping from the tank.
Attaya Attaya Nual-Uthai, head of the region’s Disaster Prevention and Control Office, said that “around 200 people were evacuated from the surrounding area”, without giving further details.
Rescue workers, including reinforcements from neighboring provinces, were trying to put out the fire by pouring sea water into it.
Thailand has recently experienced a notable increase in fires, due to the heatwave affecting South and Southeast Asia.
Furthermore, industrial accidents are not rare in this country where safety standards are known to be lax.
In 2022, a leak on an underwater oil pipeline, still in Rayong province, spilled tons of crude into the sea, with thousands of liters reaching the coast.
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