An explosion at a nearby factory shook Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport early this morning. While evacuations are underway nearby, flight operations are continuing.
Factory Explosion Nearby Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport
The explosion occurred at about 3:00am local time at the Ming Dih factory, located in Bang Phli less than three miles from BKK, Bangkok’s main international airport. The factory manufactures foam and plastic pallets. At least one person was killed and 29 were injured in the blast.
Baitong Nisarat, an area resident, told Al Jazeera:
“At first it felt like lightning. After that, I heard something drop loudly, and for a while the house started shaking like there was an earthquake.”
At least 70 houses were damaged in the explosion with firefighters still working to extinguish the fires.
The explosion shook BKK airport, setting off fire alarms and prompting inspections.
The explosion at a factory in Bang Phli shook the terminal building at Suvarnabhumi airport setting off alarms. There is now an evacuation order for residents in this area. Check with your airline if your flight is affected pic.twitter.com/EYSYSz6Gp4 #Thailand #โรงงานกิ่งแก้วไฟไหม้
— Thai News Reports (@ThaiNewsReports) July 5, 2021
Although the area surrounding the factory has been evacuated for fear of further explosions, flight operations were not interrupted.
10:30am Airplanes still taking off from Suvarnabhumi airport despite its proximity to a large fire. The black smoke can bee seen as far away as Pattaya #โรงงานกิ่งแก้วไฟไหม้ #SamutPrakan #Thailand https://t.co/SAb1NQq2j9
— Thai News Reports (@ThaiNewsReports) July 5, 2021
However thick plumes of black smoke can still be seen across the city. As wind conditions are subject to change, if you are traveling out of Bangkok Suvarnabhumi today, be prepared for potential delays.
CONCLUSION
A horrible factory explosion near Bangkok Airport killed one and injured 29 this morning. Thus far, flight operations have not been suspended or delayed at BKK even though the blast shook the airport.
image: @SarahChanTH1 / Twitter
Thai tourism is practically dead anyway. Too bad that jag off of a king and his puppy of an “elected” Prime Minister weren’t inside at the time……just saying that in Thailand could get me 15 years in the monkey house!!
Thailand can’t take a trick at the moment. Now it transpires that the vaccine they purchased, Sinovac, is pretty ineffective ( Indonesia uses the same one resulting in multiple COVID deaths among fully vaccinated health professionals); The USA is donating 1.5 million Pfizer. Australia should do the same with any excess Astra Zeneca, as well as to Indonesia and Fiji
This explosion near BKK led to an evacuation order for a 5 kilometre radius, ie potentially a million or more people. Total gridlock as people tried to flee.
Yeah and where have those 1.5 million doses gone?? You can bet your ass that the corrupt royal family and the ruling classes haven’t taken the Sinovac.
Many Thais don’t want and distrust the Sinovac. One might be able to get a better vaccination but it’s not available until at best October and you have to pay over $100.
HM The King owns the company producing Astra Zeneca; the Chinese vaccine is run through the CP group ( the mega company owned by the Chearavanont family)
The leaked Cabinet paper says health professionals should be given Pfizer, but discusses the consequent PR dilemma: the public would view Sinovac as inferior, and resist it. So the arrangement was to be secret. The responsible minister is the guy who said at the start of the pandemic that contact with foreigners should be avoided : “they’re dirty and don’t shower frequently “.
The ordinary Somchai in the street doesn’t trust the Chinese and don’t like the Chinese. There have been many stories of Chinese tourists behaving badly while in holidays in Thailand.
As for the Thai government, they would give a mangy soi dog the vaccine before they would give it to any farang. The Thais are great people but they are very clannish.
The government and officialdom barely tolerate us. That Minister came out talking smack last year as Thailand wasn’t getting hit hard for whatever reason. Now they are and it’s biting them in the ass in a karmic way.
I have ties to Thailand and they cannot believe how things are open here in the USA. I even went in some stores today in New York maskless. In Thailand they are being forced to wear masks outside.
It’s kind of you to say, but it wasn’t a factory fire at all. I take full responsibility for the explosion. I ate some Pad Ka Prao while transiting BKK this morning but forgot to take my Imodium.
Oh to be flying out of Swampy today. How I miss it so.
That airport is a dump anyway. Maybe this will spawn some redevelopment.
The buildings are very dumpy but still a significant piece of engineering to have built it on that swampy land. In that regard, John Murray, a Kiwi expat who was a key civil engineer on the project ( and who ‘stayed on’ after its completion), died of COVID complications in Bangkok last week.