BANGKOK - Twelve people were killed and more than 100 injured when firecrackers kept in a warehouse exploded in southern Thailand, an official said on Sunday.

The firecrackers set off a fire on Saturday at an unauthorised warehouse at the Muno market in Sungai Kolok district in the southern province of Narathiwat, which borders Malaysia.

“There are 10 deaths plus the remains of two unidentified persons, which were sent for DNA checks, Narathiwat Governor Sanan Phongaksorn said.

He added that 121 people were injured, two severely, while 111 had been discharged from hospital. “But there should be no more deaths.”

The blast was believed to have been caused by welding during construction work on a building storing fireworks illegally.

Police are seeking the owners on charges of negligence.

The blast detonated from roughly 1,000kg of gunpowder, said Narathiwat police commander, Police Major-General Chalermporn Khamkhiew. He added that it caused two holes roughly 2m deep and 6m wide.

Said Colonel Suthawet Thareethai, the police chief in Muno district: “We have issued a summons to the owner of the factory with the charge of negligence, which caused the accident.”

He added: “We are waiting for him to come.”

More than 200 houses surrounding the warehouse were damaged by the explosion, affecting 365 people.

About 20 people were still staying at a shelter, while several families have moved to their relatives’ houses, Mr Sanan said.

‘Thunderous noise’

The fire was brought under control late on Saturday night.

The army will assist in the recovery and clean-up operation, said southern army commander, Lieutenant-General Santi Sakhutanark.

“We will provide manpower and equipment,” he said.

Eyewitnesses reported a huge boom and the earth shaking on Saturday.

“I was playing with my phone inside the house, then suddenly I heard a loud, thunderous noise and my whole house shook,” Mr Seksan Taesen, who lives 100m from the warehouse, told AFP.

“Then I saw my roof was wide open. I looked outside and I saw houses collapsing and people lying on the ground everywhere. It was chaos.”

Explosions at workshops producing firecrackers and other pyrotechnics are not uncommon in Thailand.

Saturday’s deadly blast comes just five days after 11 people reportedly were injured when a fireworks factory exploded in the northern city of Chiangmai.

The South-east Asian kingdom also has a poor safety record in the construction sector, and deadly accidents are common.

In June, two people were killed when a bridge under construction in Bangkok collapsed onto traffic. REUTERS, AFP