Fuel Gas Explosion at filling station

Samut Prakarn - An NGV tank exploded at a PTT service station yesterday morning, injuring an attendant's legs and damaging a total of eight vehicles.

Police suspect the NGV tank installed on a privately owned bus was substandard.

"The Land Transport Department had not yet issued a permit for this bus to switch to natural gas," Samut Prakan police chief MajGeneral Wittaya Prayongpha said yesterday.

The accident has shaken people using NGVfuelled vehicles and those living near service stations.

"We are looking into this case and will determine the cause of the explosion," Wittaya said. "Anyone found responsible for the accident will face legal action."

Nattachart Charuchinda, executive vicepresident for NGV at PTT, insisted that the service station could not be held responsible. "The prob¬lem lies with the NGV tank on that bus. It couldn't cope with the pressure from gaspumping system," he said.

The bus belongs to Santimit Transport Company Limited, which is licensed to operate buses on the Pak Nam - Wat Sri Iam - Bang Pakong route.

Yesterday's explosion damaged four buses belonging to the company that were all at the service station for refills. Two taxis, a pickup and a car also sustained damages.

"Just five minutes after my col¬league started filling the NGV tank of a bus, it exploded," attendant Sanya Wanjapoh said. His colleague, Lha Maprate, was seriously injured and being treated at Samrong Hospital as of press time. PTT has promised to provide Lha with the best care.

According to Deputy Samut Prakan Governor Kamthorn Thavornsathit, a defective NGV tank had caused a similar accident on March 31. "It exploded on a truck, injuring many people and damaging many vehicles," he said.

Dr Atikhom Bangwiwat, a lec¬turer at the King Mongkut's University of Technology Thon Buri, warned that no mechanical device was completely safe. "The best sce¬nario is to minimise damage in case things go wrong," he said.

The lecturer expressed deep con¬cern about the lack of quality checks on tanks.

"Each new tank can be refilled about 45,000 times," he said. On average, vehicle owners refill their tanks about 1,000 times, but things get dangerous when tanks are bought second hand, he explained.