Thailand Truck Explosion Kills More Than 100
More than 100 people were killed and 86 were injured when a truck carrying dynamite to a stone quarry overturned and then exploded an hour after a crowd gathered to look at the accident, police said today.
The blast in southern Phang Nga province Friday evening destroyed about 50 homes, said Sgt. Somkit Manjan of the provincial police.
The truck overturned rounding a bend in the coastal district of Thai Muang, located about 400 miles south of Bangkok, police said. They said it had not been determined what set off the explosives.
Authorities said some police officers were believed among the dead and that other victims may have been passengers on a bus that was in the area at the time of the blast.
Provincial Gov. Anant Jaengkleeb said the dynamite had been shipped from India and was loaded onto the truck at Phuket Island just south of Phang Nga.
Authorities said the explosives were bound for a quarry in Saraburi, located about 55 miles north of Bangkok.
It was the latest high-casualty accident involving explosions here.
About 90 people died in September when a truck carrying liquid petroleum exploded in Bangkok.
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