The Labour Minister showed concern about the gas filling plant and the fire in Samut Prakan Province, which caused serious injuries to many employees. He instructed a special team with departments under the Ministry of Labour to inspect the area and help employees access their legal rights immediately.
The Labour Minister, Mr. Suchart Chomklin, spoke about the case of a gas-filling plant explosion and a fire that caused serious injuries to many employees at V.I.P Petroleum Company Limited, Bang Sao Thong District, Samut Prakan Province. He said that the Deputy Prime Minister and Acting Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, who oversees the Ministry of Labour, has expressed concern about the incident. He instructed the Ministry of Labour to support employees immediately. He assigned a special task force to investigate the facts right away. The investigation found that the accident scene was V.I.P Petroleum Company Limited, located at 30/100-1, Moo 11, Bangna-Trad Road, Km. 23, Bang Sao Thong Subdistrict, Bang Sao Thong District, Samut Prakan Province. The company is a cooking gas filling plant with 30 employees. At 00.30 (August 30, 2022), an explosion broke out inside the factory while the employees were resting in the company’s worker’s room. The workers ran to escape the fire, which caused five people to become seriously injured. Firemen from Bang Sao Thong Subdistrict and nearby areas took about an hour to control the fire and close the gas tank valve at all points. The injured employees have already been sent to the hospital for treatment. The task force has been assigned to investigate the accidents or serious work-related hazards, together with agencies under the Ministry of Labour, to investigate the scene more, including assisting employees affected by the incident and coordinating medical care for the injured employees to receive their legal entitlements.
The Department of Labour Protection and Welfare’s Inspector-General, Ms. Preyanan Likhitsan, a task force team member, is investigating the accident and serious work-related hazards, said the task force and agencies under the Ministry of Labour had visited the site to inspect the accident and give encouragement to the injured employees. The Samut Prakan Provincial Social Security Office has examined the rights of the Social Security Fund and the Compensation Fund of the five injured employees, two of which are Thai nationals and three Myanmar nationals. The employees will be entitled to medical treatment and compensation from the Social Security Office. As for the cause of the accident, the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare will invite the employer and related persons for further investigation on September 5. They will conduct checks on whether the employers have complied with workplace safety laws, the ministerial regulations specifying standards for the management and operation of occupational safety, health, and working environment related to fire prevention and suppression, B.E. 2555 or not, and whether the employees have complied with the Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Act B.E. 2554 and the ministerial regulations prescribing standards for the management and operation of occupational safety, health and working environments related to fire prevention and suppression B.E. 2555, to prevent loss that will be caused by accidents or accidents from work.
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Public Relations Division
30 August 2022
