Death toll from scrap shop blast in Bangkok

BANGKOK, April 2 (TNA) - Death toll from an explosion at a scrap shop in Bangkok on Wednesday afternoon has risen to seven, while 19 others were injured, as assistance has been mobilized to help the victims. Bangkok Deputy Governor Phusadee Tamthai, who performs duties in lieu of Bangkok Governor M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra, told journalists on Wednesday that the explosion and a subsequent fire at the scrap shop on Lat Plakhao 72 Road resulted in high casualties and damage to almost 20 houses, while police had not yet found out the cause. The Bangkok deputy governor did not confirm whether an old bomb sold to the shop caused the incident, but she warned people not to keep any suspicious objects and to have security authorities check them for the sake of their safety. Kris Kiatphanachart, chief of Bangkhen District, reported that the explosion and the fire happened at about 12:15pm and the blaze was put out at about 1pm. According to the Bangkhen District chief, an old bomb of WWII, weighing about 230 kilograms, had been sold there and shop staffs thought it was a steel ball; so, they used a gas cutter on it. The Bangkhen District chief noted that the impact of the blast at the shop, located in the Trairatanaram Community, caused damage in a radius of several hundred meters, including broken glass panes at many nearby houses and buildings. Updated reports said that seven people were killed and 19 others were injured in the incident and they were sent to nearby hospitals for treatment, while bomb experts have sealed off the scene to check whether there are more bombs. Royal Thai Air Force Spokesman Air Marshal Monthol Satchukorn told Thai News Agency (TNA), meanwhile, that it might be one of a large number of bombs the Allied Powers dropped in Bangkok during the Pacific War in 1944, acknowledging that an old 500-pound bomb was recently found in the compound of the Bang Sue railway junction in Bangkok. (TNA)