What's new in business news: February 2, 2015
Published: 2 Feb 2015 at 13.56 | Viewed: 1,109 | Comments: 0
Online news: At Work
Writer: Jon Fernquest
Fire destroys new Chinese tyre factory in Rayong, Tiffany ladyboy show turns to Chinese audience after Russians disappear & Greece rejects new EU-IMF loans as money runs out.
An aerial view of the factory site on Monday morning, showing the six fire gutted warehouses. (Photos by Krit Phromsakla Na Sakolnakorn)
INDUSTRIAL SAFETY
Fire destroys new Chinese tyre factory in Rayong
Firefighters battled for hours overnight to control a major blaze at a rubber tyre plant at Hemaraj Industrial Estate in Rayong that destroyed six warehouses. The fire broke out around 8pm Sunday at a warehouse of the Chinese company LLIT Thailand (Ling Long). About 200 employees working in the factory at the time fled for their lives. The industrial estate’s fire unit helped to control the fire but it was too strong for them. At least 50 fire trucks from nearby provinces were sent to battle the flames, made worse by a strong wind. By around midnight, the fire was reported to be under control and contained, but not completely extinguished.
It was thought the fire was started by an electrical short circuit. Witnesses reported hearing a loud sound, like an explosion, followed by a fire at a tyre warehouse. Nearby villages were evacuated around 10pm Sunday for fear of a major explosion as the fire was close to a gas pipeline. Some employees required treatment for smoke inhalation, but there were no major injuries.
The Chinese tiremaker's first overseas manufacturing facility was opened in February 2014 in a big ceremony with 500 guests from 180 countries. The factory had an initial capacity of two million tires per year with a planned annual capacity of ten million tires. The company's facility sprawls over 333 rai, with investment of 2.7 billion baht. It currently employs about 600 people. There was also a big fire at a plastics factory in Samut Prakan near Bangkok on Saturday (See here).
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