Huge Rayong blaze tamed after Navy deploys drone, warship
A deadly blaze at Rayong’s Map Ta Phut Industrial Port that killed one person and sparked an evacuation was extinguished with help from the Thai Navy at around 4pm on Thursday, according to officials.
The fire erupted when an 18-metre-tall fuel storage tank belonging to Map Ta Phut Tank Terminal Co exploded at around 10.40am on Thursday.
The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) deployed a drone to help control the blaze and a warship to evacuate residents affected, said RTN spokesperson Rear Admiral Veerudome Muangchean.
Firefighters battled for six hours to put out the fire, which at one time threatened to spread to another fuel storage tank.
So far, one person has been reported dead and four injured in the blaze.
Around 400 residents were evacuated to Map Ta Phut Phittiyakarn school after Rayong authorities declared an emergency.
All Rayong hospitals have been placed on standby to treat victims while locals have been advised to stay indoors until the smoke clears.
Map Ta Phut Tank Terminal has reportedly been ordered to suspend operations following the second blast to hit the facility in the last few years.
In 2021, a chemical tank explosion killed three people at the terminal.
