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Thousands evacuated after Thai blast: 12 killed | Thousands of people were evacuated after explosions and fire tear
through a factory of an industrial park in east Thailand's Rayong Province Saturday
afternoon, killing at least 12 people. Rayong Governor Senee Jittakasem declared
the industrial estate and surrounding area, covering 30 communities, a disaster
zone to facilitate emergency operation. People from factories and communities
in a three-kilometer radius of the industrial park were evacuated to prevent them
from inhaling toxic gases. At least 12 people were killed. About 24 of 142 injured
people remain in hospital, according to hospital reports. The blaze started at
around 3:30 p.m. local time after explosions hit a chemical plant of Bangkok Synthetics
Co (BST) in Map Taphut Industrial Estate, according to earlier reports. Firefighters
used foam to douse the blaze. It took more than four hours to get the fire under
control. It was put out at about 1 a.m. Sunday. Initial investigations showed
the blast occurred when workers were putting toluene, a widely used chemical solvent,
into a tank, Senee said. Exposure to toluene can cause breathing difficulty, dizziness
and vomiting. Inhaling too much of it could cause serious damages to health, Deputy
Public Health Minister Surawit Khonsomboon said. Thailand 's Prime Minister Yingluck
Shinawatra took a helicopter to the Map Ta Phut industrial estate in Rayong province
Sunday morning. She inspected the factory hit by the explosion and visited injured
people at a local hospital. Industry Minister Pongsvas Svasti said the plant had
suspended production for maintenance. He believed an operational error caused
the accident. According to BST's website, the company was established in 1991.
The company's products include Butadiene, Butene-1, MTBE and C4 Raffinates, which
are major raw materials of downstream petrochemical processes such as the manufacturing
of synthetic rubbers and plastic resins.
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