Factory Blast Death Toll Rises To 12

By Jamaluddin Muhammad BANGKOK (Thailand), May 7 (Bernama) -- Nine more people have died, raising to 12 the death toll following a blast at a petrochemical factory in the Ma Ta Phut Industrial Estate in Rayong on Saturday. Thailand Deputy Minister of Public Health Surawit Konsombboon said 30 people were still being treated at various hospitals in Rayong and Bangkok, mostly for burns and breathing difficulty. Nine-nine people who were admitted to hospital yesterday for similar injuries were discharged on Sunday. The dead and most of those injured were workers of the factory. Thousands of people, including workers and residents within a three-km radius of the factory, were evacuated on Saturday following the 4 pm incident which is believed to have emitted toxic gas. Rayong Governor Senee Jittakasem declared the whole industrial estate and its surrounding areas within a three-km radius a disaster zone. The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand, however, did not detect toxic gas in the air in the area. The incident occurred when a group of workers was cleaning one of the tanks at the plant using Toluene chemical. According to the Public Health Ministry, the chemical was injurious to health if inhaled. The factory produces, among others, raw material for downstream petrochemical processes such as the manufacture of synthetic rubbers and plastic resins. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and several ministers visited the plant as well as the victims in Rayong on Sunday. -- BERNAMA