Organisers charged after firework fatalities
The Nation



KALASIN: -- Police have charged the bungfai rocket festival organisers with manslaughter after a Sunday accident in which a 500kg rocket exploded in Tambon Kham Yai in Kalasin's Huai Mek district, killing three villagers and injuring several others.

Huai Mek superintendent Pol Col Sukrit Khorruamkit said former Kalasin Provincial Administrative Organisation member Prakan Oodsa and fellow event-organising committee members Wichai Janwilai and Kalawek Thalad had testified to police and heard the charges against them.

The rocket-maker and lighter Supoj Samart, whose wife Boonkeng died in the incident, has not seen police yet pending the funeral of his wife.

An informed source reported the fateful bungfai had been prepared for lighting at another event in Roi Et's Panom Prai district, but the organisers didn't allow it because the bungfai's tail was not centred and thus substandard. Its owners applied to launch it at the Kham Yai event instead, leading to the tragedy.


-- The Nation 2013-07-09

A sad tale, due to a bad tail. At what age do they grow out of building rockets? Quite an immature thing for a grown man to be doing.

A sad tale, due to a bad tail. At what age do they grow out of building rockets? Quite an immature thing for a grown man to be doing.

I think is a nice hobby.. a dangerous one for sure and the big crowds there are not a good thing. But doing something like that alone somewhere with not many people why not. But I mean deserted place not at gatherings.

I witnessed the first stage of this tragedy; it was easily visible from the Kranuan to Khua Mek road where I was travelling in a car.The Banfai rose up powerfully but was spiralling as it went up. Way short of the kind of heights these rockets can attain, and still firing strongly, it did a u-turn and plummeted straight down towards the crowd which I could not see, but having attended this festival myself two years ago, I knew were likely to be there. Nor could I see the explosion that followed. Local people have told me that they scattered as much as they could but many were unable to avoid the deadly explosion.

Was it really half a tonne ("500kg")

Sounds more like a guided missile!

A sad tale, due to a bad tail. At what age do they grow out of building rockets? Quite an immature thing for a grown man to be doing.

Yep, let's leave it to the kids to be doing this stuff instead

"Sounds more like a guided missile"........without a guidance system.

Thailand must be the best country in the world to hold practical classes in Darwinism.

A sad tale, due to a bad tail. At what age do they grow out of building rockets? Quite an immature thing for a grown man to be doing.

I think is a nice hobby.. a dangerous one for sure and the big crowds there are not a good thing. But doing something like that alone somewhere with not many people why not. But I mean deserted place not at gatherings.

Yes I agree it is a nice hobby "for idiots" A half tonne rocket built by some deranged guy (a born again Wernher von Braun) who can probably barely write his own name and then set it off to kill some

other idiot (s) who think that it is fun to expose themselves to such danger.

It is not the first time (and certainly won't be the last) that fatalities have occurred involving these rockets.

Thais are like children, 'they know not what they do'

I was working on a bit of a job some years back and a bunch of Thais picked up an item of "EOD" and despite hundreds of bulletins in around 50 languages saying 'if you didn't drop it don't pick it up'

these guys were playing catch with one and all was going well until BOOM it blew up killing several. Oh well (yawn) 'som mum naa'

An informed source reported the fateful bungfai had been prepared for lighting at another event in Roi Et's Panom Prai district, but the organisers didn't allow it because the bungfai's tail was not centred and thus substandard. Its owners applied to launch it at the Kham Yai event instead, leading to the tragedy

-------------------------

Says it all right there in that quote.

The tail was off center. The tail acts as the stabilizer. That's why it went wild.

Man was a fool.

In Oz, some years back, a man WITH an explosives ticket, set up a fireworks display for his religious group (7 Days Witless?) using ANFO, and killed several. Sorry, can't find link, but believe it was in the Blue Mts area.

One can feel for the families and my sincere sympathy go's out to them in your time of sorrow, Thailand has a dubious record when these events occur and people get arrested, one wounders what procedure would be adopted if a wealthy Thai family was involved, the silence is deafening from the DSI , regarding those imported cars under investigation, to name one such case.

This is how it looks when it goes wrong:

Was it really half a tonne ("500kg")

Sounds more like a guided missile!

Aimed at the south but lost control Did they think 500 kg a safe rocket

A sad tale, due to a bad tail. At what age do they grow out of building rockets? Quite an immature thing for a grown man to be doing.

I think is a nice hobby.. a dangerous one for sure and the big crowds there are not a good thing. But doing something like that alone somewhere with not many people why not. But I mean deserted place not at gatherings.

Yes I agree it is a nice hobby "for idiots" A half tonne rocket built by some deranged guy (a born again Wernher von Braun) who can probably barely write his own name and then set it off to kill some

other idiot (s) who think that it is fun to expose themselves to such danger.

It is not the first time (and certainly won't be the last) that fatalities have occurred involving these rockets.

Thais are like children, 'they know not what they do'

I was working on a bit of a job some years back and a bunch of Thais picked up an item of "EOD" and despite hundreds of bulletins in around 50 languages saying 'if you didn't drop it don't pick it up'

these guys were playing catch with one and all was going well until BOOM it blew up killing several. Oh well (yawn) 'som mum naa'

Sure its dangerous, but I just hate it when they start banning everything. If they do this on a secluded place and people going there on their own risk... up to then. You wont catch me there that is for sure.

On an other note maybe they should get some Hamas people to Thailand to train them how to aim might make things safer and give those Hamas some hands on training too

A sad tale, due to a bad tail. At what age do they grow out of building rockets? Quite an immature thing for a grown man to be doing.

Yes, NASA recruits exclusively at pre-schools and kindergartens

This has nothing to do with building rockets, all to do with lack of thought for others, a real problem here

A sad tale, due to a bad tail. At what age do they grow out of building rockets? Quite an immature thing for a grown man to be doing.

I think is a nice hobby.. a dangerous one for sure and the big crowds there are not a good thing. But doing something like that alone somewhere with not many people why not. But I mean deserted place not at gatherings.

Yes I agree it is a nice hobby "for idiots" A half tonne rocket built by some deranged guy (a born again Wernher von Braun) who can probably barely write his own name and then set it off to kill some

other idiot (s) who think that it is fun to expose themselves to such danger.

It is not the first time (and certainly won't be the last) that fatalities have occurred involving these rockets.

Thais are like children, 'they know not what they do'

I was working on a bit of a job some years back and a bunch of Thais picked up an item of "EOD" and despite hundreds of bulletins in around 50 languages saying 'if you didn't drop it don't pick it up'

these guys were playing catch with one and all was going well until BOOM it blew up killing several. Oh well (yawn) 'som mum naa'

Sure its dangerous, but I just hate it when they start banning everything. If they do this on a secluded place and people going there on their own risk... up to then. You wont catch me there that is for sure.

On an other note maybe they should get some Hamas people to Thailand to train them how to aim might make things safer and give those Hamas some hands on training too

I find your joke in poor taste; hamas purposely murders women and children

@kilgore trout

They certainly do but Israel certainly isn't that innocent either. I am not taking sides there anymore and maybe you are right about the joke.

@kilgore trout

They certainly do but Israel certainly isn't that innocent either. I am not taking sides there anymore and maybe you are right about the joke.

We'll have to save that argument for another time, thanks for conceding the comment may be offensive, though

Yes I agree it is a nice hobby "for idiots" A half tonne rocket built by some deranged guy (a born again Wernher von Braun) who can probably barely write his own name and then set it off to kill some

other idiot (s) who think that it is fun to expose themselves to such danger.

It is not the first time (and certainly won't be the last) that fatalities have occurred involving these rockets.

Thais are like children, 'they know not what they do'

I was working on a bit of a job some years back and a bunch of Thais picked up an item of "EOD" and despite hundreds of bulletins in around 50 languages saying 'if you didn't drop it don't pick it up'

these guys were playing catch with one and all was going well until BOOM it blew up killing several. Oh well (yawn) 'som mum naa'

My word... you have such a high opinion of our Thai hosts....

totster

when big children

play with fireworks

you get accidents like this

Was it really half a tonne ("500kg")

Sounds more like a guided missile!

Yeah i was thinking the same thing !

One reason these events are so popular, and not policed properly, is due to the huge amounts being gambled. Another example of how corruption hurts this country:

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/05/17/national/POLICE-PRESENCE-A-FIZZER-AS-BETTING-SOARS-AT-ROCKE-30155519.html

I witnessed the first stage of this tragedy; it was easily visible from the Kranuan to Khua Mek road where I was travelling in a car.The Banfai rose up powerfully but was spiralling as it went up. Way short of the kind of heights these rockets can attain, and still firing strongly, it did a u-turn and plummeted straight down towards the crowd which I could not see, but having attended this festival myself two years ago, I knew were likely to be there. Nor could I see the explosion that followed. Local people have told me that they scattered as much as they could but many were unable to avoid the deadly explosion.

i attended 5 years ago >>> CRAZYNESS !!!!!

Not surprised these accidents happen... Almost everybody running around drunk... TiT......

Only in Thailand can you kill someone, be charged with the crime and not have to 'visit' police. Jesus christ o fn mighty.

Sent from my ZP800H using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

nutters

Half a ton of rocket?They should have brought this sh*t to the south.

Sent from my GT-P6200 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I was impressed to read that they had standards for these things and that Roi Et's Panom Prai district had previously rejected the rocket as sub-standard.

That all said, is there a safe way for a large pipe and a bamboo stabiliser to fall on someone's head?

If there is compensation to be had, I predict an outbreak of bung fai chasers.....

An informed source reported the fateful bungfai had been prepared for lighting at another event in Roi Et's Panom Prai district, but the organisers didn't allow it because the bungfai's tail was not centred and thus substandard. Its owners applied to launch it at the Kham Yai event instead, leading to the tragedy

-------------------------

Says it all right there in that quote.

The tail was off center. The tail acts as the stabilizer. That's why it went wild.

Man was a fool.

Have some sympathy. He's now a widower.

Just another example of Thai disregard for safety!