Fire breaks out at crane collapse scene on Rama II
A fire erupted around 11am on Tuesday at the Rama II Highway crane collapse site in Samut Sakhon as workers cleared debris. The blaze was quickly contained, with no injuries reported, and officials are investigating the cause.
A fire broke out on Tuesday at the scene where a launcher crane collapsed onto two vehicles on the Rama II Highway.
The Fire & Rescue Thailand Facebook page reported that the fire started at about 11am at the crane accident site while workers were trying to remove the concrete slab that fell along with the collapsed crane last week.
The fire broke out on the outbound lanes of Rama II, in front of the Paris Hotel in tambon Tha Chin, Mueang district, Samut Sakhon.
Tambon Tha Chin Municipality deployed fire engines and firefighters, working with other rescue agencies, to fight the blaze.
The blaze sent thick smoke into the sky, but it was put out quickly after fire engines arrived.
No injuries were reported.
A municipal firefighter said crews had to keep dousing the site with water to prevent the fire from reigniting.
Officials said they were investigating the cause of the fire and outlined three possible explanations:
- Sparks from cutting steel in the concrete wreckage may have started the fire.
- Extreme heat may have ignited oil stains or rubbish in the wreckage.
- Carelessness by workers.
However, the Fire & Rescue Thailand page reported that officials believed an object fell from the elevated structure under construction onto hydraulic equipment at the site, causing oil to leak. When a worker used an iron cutter to clear the wreckage, sparks ignited the oil, triggering the fire.
