Samut Prakan fire evacuees finally head home
Residents who took shelter in Bangkok’s Bung Nong Bon sports centre after being evacuated from Samut Prakan early on Monday were allowed to return home on Tuesday after the chemical fire in Bang Phli district was completely put out.
A huge blast at around 2.50am on Monday sparked a chemical inferno at the Ming Dih Chemical factory in Soi Kin Kaew 21. Chemicals stored in underground tanks reportedly caused small explosions intermittently throughout the day.
Some 100 people living in the area were evacuated and given shelter at the Nong Bon sports centre at the order of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.
After 26 hours of battling the blaze, firefighters eventually managed to shut off all valves of the tanks to ensure no more flames are fanned.
The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation reported that at least 70 houses and 15 vehicles were damaged in the explosion. The blaze also killed one 18-year-old firefighting volunteer and injured 60 others.
