Six die in Thailand after homemade fireworks explode

BANGKOK — Six Myanmar citizens died in Thailand when homemade fireworks exploded inside a home, blowing the roof off and leaving the area covered in gunpowder, police said Friday.

The massive blast killed four women and two men who police believe were hired to illegally manufacture fireworks from the farmhouse in central Thailand.

“They were killed by giant firecrackers while they were making them,” said Sayam Suanin, a police officer from Suphan Buri province’s U-Thong district.

He said the group lacked proper licensing and likely sold the homemade explosives to farmers to chase away birds. Police are working to identify the victims’ charred remains and have sent their bodies to a forensic lab.

“Officers could not tell their ages as their bodies were all blackened by the burns,” Sayam said, adding that police were still investigating the exact cause of the explosion.

Homemade fireworks and rockets are widely available in Thailand, where they are often used to celebrate traditional holidays. In 2012, a huge fireworks explosion at a Chinese New Year celebration in Thailand left four people dead, almost 90 injured and more than 100 homes ablaze. In 2009, on New Year’s Eve, a fire at an upscale Bangkok nightclub, Santika, killed 67 people after fireworks were set. AFP