Police said the explosion happened as workers transferred fireworks from an 18-wheel truck to the warehouse. The exact cause of the explosion remained unknown. The warehouse owner believed the explosion was sparked in the lorry's container.

The warehouse occupied a row of nine two-storey shop houses opposite the Sadao municipal swimming pool.

Fire and rescue services rushed to the scene but said the two workers died instantly.

Officials condemned the warehouse for demolition, saying it was now structurally unsafe. The wreckage was off limits because of fears it would collapse.

The blast rocked the town and damaged the swimming pool and nearby shop houses.

Warehouse owner Captain Chavalit Kalampa-heti, a former Songkhla election chief, said he was concerned for the victims. "We will pay Bt40,000 compensation to the families of those killed in the blast," he said. The company would foot hospital expenses for the injured.

Chavalit estimated at least Bt500,000 worth of fireworks went up in the blast. He was insured for Bt1.5 million.

Chavalit imported fireworks from China and distributed them in the South.

The Nation