At least nine people have been killed, including three children, in a blast at a fireworks warehouse in a market in southern Thailand yesterday.
The explosion in Sungai Kolok, on the Malaysian border, seriously injured at least 115 people and is thought to have been caused by construction work.
The force of the explosion shook buildings, shattered windows and collapsed rooves, sending a massive plume of smoke into the air.
The explosion also destroyed a large part of the town in Narathiwat province.
The market fire has been brought under control, and a preliminary investigation indicates a "technical error" in steel welding during construction work on the building was responsible for the blast.
Despite public pressure to improve safety, Thailand still has a poor record of accidents on its roads, construction sites and in the workplace.
Enforcement of regulations is all the more challenging in Sungai Kolok - a notoriously rowdy border town where anything goes, located in a region of Thailand that is still blighted by an active armed insurgency.
[Source: BBC News]
