UPDATE: Gas leak believed to be cause of massive explosion at restaurant in the center of Pattaya

Pattaya —

A gas leak was believed by Pattaya police to be the cause of the massive explosion at a restaurant centrally located in Pattaya at dawn today, August 30th.

Our previous story:

A massive explosion obliterated several Thai restaurants and buildings in the center of Pattaya and seriously injured one Laotian worker. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation.

Now for our update:

Pattaya Mayor Poramase Ngampiches, Police Chief of the Pattaya Police Station Kunlachart Kunlachai, and the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit (EOD), visited the exploded Thai restaurant in Central Pattaya today, August 30th, to investigate the cause of the explosion.

Initially, the two gas tanks that were found intact outside the restaurant along with the gas tubes that connected the tanks to the kitchen inside the restaurant would be examined by the EOD unit. As of press time, the unit could not find any explosive substance inside the restaurant, but a gas leak was believed to be the cause of the explosion, according to Police Chief Kunlachart.

The Pattaya mayor who also went to inspect the scene personally had ordered the building to be temporarily closed pending the EOD’s investigation. He also directed the city’s technicians to examine the building’s structure as the building reportedly risked collapsing.

Twenty affected people reported damages to Poramase, who assured them that Pattaya City would compensate all costs induced by the explosion. The mayor also suspected that the incident was caused by a gas leak.

Paisan Phongthawornpinyo, the 56-year-old owner of the exploded restaurant, said that he had been running his restaurant for almost 40 years since he was a teenager and was shocked by the explosion. The owner said that he was uncertain about the cause but claimed that he always checked his gas tanks and found nothing wrong.

Local residents said that there were some vagabonds with mental illnesses who liked to cause problems in the area such as opening lights and gas tanks of the restaurants. However, no connection to the locals’ claim has been discovered, as of press time.

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