At least 10 killed in explosion at Thai firework factory

Bangkok, Thailand CNN —

At least 10 people have died following an explosion at a fireworks depot in central Thailand, according to officials.

It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion, which happened at around 4 p.m. local time (4 a.m. ET) on Wednesday in Suphan Buri province, north of Thailand’s capital Bangkok, local police said.

“We estimated there are about 10 deaths, we are still investigating the cause and the exact number of casualties,” Police Colonel Peerapoj Rawangbarn told CNN.

Police said the fire around the area had now been put out, and that rescue workers and forensic officers were working to retrieve human remains from and around the demolished factory.

Firework accidents are not uncommon in Thailand. At least 12 people were killed and 121 injured in an explosion in July last year at a fireworks warehouse in the southern village of Mu No. More than 100 houses were damaged in the blast.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin was briefed on the explosion while he was at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and ordered an urgent investigation to see if the explosion was caused by negligence, Reuters reported.

This is a developing story and will be updated.