Owner of the scrap yard where the WWII bomb went off to face charges of negligence

The owner of the scrap yard where the WWII bomb exploded yesterday, after a worker tried to dismantle it with a torch, will face charges of negligence that resulted in the death of innocent people.

The 230kilo bomb was discovered by construction workers on a site nearby the scrap yard in Lard Prakao Soi 72 in Bangkoks Bang Khen area. The men took the bomb to the scrap yard thinking it was a large hammer of a crane. At first the owner was rather suspicious of its oval shape and suggested that it might be a bomb. However construction workers insisted that it was a hammer that had broken off from the crane. A worker at the scrap yard then made an attempt to dismantle it with a gas torch, the resulting heat caused the bomb to detonate. The blast from the bomb killed seven people and injured twelve more. Nearly one hundred houses were damaged in the blast.

Military personnel from the 1^st Royal Guards Battalion were sent to help residents clear the debris and remove their personal belongings.

The Erawan Rescuse Service Centre reported twenty injures, six deaths at the scene and one en route to the hospital. The BMA have erected a tent to provide aid to those affected, some homes were set alight by the explosion. Those affected are able to register for reconstruction aid, 30,000 baht will be paid for homes that have been completely destroyed, 25,000 baht for homes that have been partially damaged and tens of thousands of baht are expected to be paid for fatalities.

The BMA are looking into ways to implement measures to regulate scrap shop operations, most of these kinds of businesses are not legally registered and do not implement screening processes to assess hazardous materials.

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