Two die as errant festival rocket engulfs car in ball of flames
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Two people were killed yesterday after a "Bang Fai" rocket failed to properly take off, dropping instead onto a car in the Wat That community of Nong Khai's Mueang district, police said.
Sangium Sonthirat, 41, died in the car, which was immediately engulfed in flames, while Anuwat Pinthuwong, 47 – the car owner – died on his way to hospital. The two were friends.
Police said the firework, which was detonated by an electrical current, was found to have been mistakenly launched without its guidance system after the person responsible for launching the rocket forgot to include it in the rocket’s launch set up.
As a result, the rocket went off in the wrong direction and hit Anuwat’s car. At the time of the accident, he was trying to find a parking space so that he could attend the traditional Bang Fai rocket event.
On contact with the car, the rocket exploded, engulfing the car in flames in a matter of seconds. Onlookers rushed to help pull Anuwat from the blaze, but not before he suffered first degree burns. He died before reaching the hospital.
The Wat That community annually holds their Bang Fai merit making ceremony with a rocket and firework competition from May 25-29 – during which 250 rockets are launched into the sky.
After the accident, the event was cancelled. Police are now investigating the accident to find out who is responsible.
An official said people who joined the rocket competition were required to pay Bt1,000 for insurance in case of accidents. Organisers of the event were expected to collect a total of Bt250,000 in insurance payments.
