More than 100 people were injured in the blast on Saturday afternoon in the town of Sungai Kolok, in the southern Thai province of Narathiwat. - PHOTO: AFP
BANGKOK (dpa): The death toll following an explosion in a warehouse holding fireworks in southern Thailand rose to at least 12 on Sunday, the Bangkok Post reported, citing the Narathiwat provincial authorities.
A further 121 people were injured in Saturday's blast, with 111 discharged from hospital again by Sunday.
Around 50 houses were completely destroyed and a further 250 damaged in the explosion in the Muno district close to the border with Malaysia. Hundreds of people were displaced due to the blast.
The cause is thought to have been sparks from welding work.
Provincial Governor Sanan Pong-aksorn told a press conference on Sunday that almost 1,000 kilograms of gunpowder had exploded, according to the Bangkok Post.
He said the warehouse had originally been licensed as a food shop, and that permission had subsequently been granted for an expansion to store other goods.
The fireworks however had presumably been stored without permission, the governor told the press conference, adding that this would be investigated. - dpa
