Police, Manufacturer Investigate Hot Pot Explosion That Injured 4
By Teeranai Charuvastra
Staff Reporter


The scene at a hot pot restaurant Monday evening after a hot plate reportedly exploded, injuring 4 in Korat.

KORAT — When an electric hot plate at a restaurant in the northeast of Thailand exploded and injured four people, it shocked many as a routine and familiar action gone horribly wrong. Today investigators said it will take at least a week to find out it happened.

After four customers were injured Monday when an AJ brand stove exploded at a hot pot (shabu shabu) restaurant in Nakhon Ratchasima, restaurant owner Thananya Mahachupond said the device wasn’t even plugged in at the time.

Representatives from the police and the manufacturer said they are both investigating the incident, which will take up to a week.

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1449060445&typecate=06&section=


-- Khaosod English 2015-12-03

How in the hell could it explode if it wasn't plugged in.

Oh I'm slow this morning, no doubt it was the noodle GHOST again.

How in the hell could it explode if it wasn't plugged in.

Oh I'm slow this morning, no doubt it was the noodle GHOST again.

Wooòoooooo evil spirits in action, was it Red Label ?

Wait for the report that unseen hands plugged the appliance in and waited.

Of course in true BIB style it could be a business or personal conflict, love matters, unpaid debts or possibly a political motive !

Edited December 2, 201510 yr by NongKhaiKid

Ohhh AJ brand....made in Thailand.

I had a stereo from AJ and half the functions of it never worked since i unboxed it.

How in the hell could it explode if it wasn't plugged in.

Oh I'm slow this morning, no doubt it was the noodle GHOST again.

The concentration of Thai Lao Kao on a hot unplugged hot plate...

How in the hell could it explode if it wasn't plugged in.

Oh I'm slow this morning, no doubt it was the noodle GHOST again.

Quiet easily if they splashed cold water on the hot glass plate.

Hotplate unusual explosion at a shabu-shabu restaurant injures four, triggers probe



KORAT: -- An unusual explosion of an electric hotplate that injured four customers in Nakhon Ratchasima at a hotpot (shabu shabu) restaurant in Nakhon Ratchasima province has forced the restaurant owner to replace all the electric stoves with charcoal stoves as the police and its manufacturer are conducting investigation into how it happened.

The incident happened Monday night at the restaurant owned by Mrs Tananya Mahachoopon and the problem stove was an AJ electric hotplate.

According to the shabu shabu owner, the restaurant opened regularly at 4.00 pm and 3 diners had entered and had dined at the exact stove that had later exploded.

On this occasion, the owner stated that the stove had worked as normal and nothing untoward happened.

After the first group had left another group arrived and the same stove was used again which later exploded and injured all of them.

The owner stated that there was a 2 hour lapse between the time that the first group had left and the second group arriving.

Head of the police investigative team ordered all the electric stoves remaining to be seized and sent for inspection by the 3rd Forensic Evidence Examination Unit at the Jo-Hor sub-district

It has been tasked with carrying out tests on the equipment and the results should be out within a week.

Two causes have been suggested which are negligence on the part of the eatery or either faulty or defective equipment.

In a related development, representatives from the company that supplied the electrical stoves yesterday brought in 10 new electrical stoves that are equipped with improved safety systems to replace the existing ones.

They should have results within 3 days.

This was the first time that an electrical stove has exploded in Thailand, said one representative of Crown Tech Advance, which makes and sells AJ stoves.

He said the police indicated their investigation would take four days. After that, the stove will be sent to the company for a two day inspection, Khaosod reported.

Crown Tech Advance said there was no reason to recall its AJ stoves as it has received no other reports of malfunction.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/hotplate-unusual-explosion-at-a-shabu-shabu-restaurant-injures-four-triggers-probe


-- Thai PBS 2015-12-03

Don't hold your breath for an intelligent structured investigative outcome.....

Take a poor quality stove to begin with, apply some Isaan electrical work (as in bunch of tape and bare wires) as maintenance and hey, it's New Year, boom boom!

Just imagine the "scope" of that "investigation" and the impact of the resulting penalty if that restaurant would have been foreign, well - part foreign owned...

Of course these are household not commercial grade apparatus. It was never designed to be used for 6 hours a day 7 days a week and so it broke. Simple really.

Of course these are household not commercial grade apparatus. It was never designed to be used for 6 hours a day 7 days a week and so it broke. Simple really.

Yes but break is one thing: stop working, fail to function. Explode ( if the story is accurate) is something entirely different.

Of course these are household not commercial grade apparatus. It was never designed to be used for 6 hours a day 7 days a week and so it broke. Simple really.

Yes but break is one thing: stop working, fail to function. Explode ( if the story is accurate) is something entirely different.

Well presumably the plastic caught fire or some soup got in the electrics. Either way, a bloody deathtrap dressed up as a restaurant.....

Today investigators said it will take at least a week to find out it happened.

SIMPLE: poorly neglected maintenance of cooking hardware for many many years, KA_BOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

took me not even a split second to INVESTIGATE that out

AJ Stoves - Made in China? Or made in Thailand?

unfortunately here are not standards for stoves that are used on a commercial bases with the public. Its cook at your own risk. This is Thailand not the West

The I have no life, or meaning of crowd has spoken. God help us.

Edited December 3, 201510 yr by nithisa78

The manufacturer have supplied new stoves with "improved safety". Would be interesting to know what that is.

The manufacturer have supplied new stoves with "improved safety". Would be interesting to know what that is.

A manual written in Chinese.

Hard to impress that 'it had worked okay previously' is a not valid excuse for lack of maintenance and inspection/safety checks of devices.

It may be a well used phrase but 'if it works don't fix it', in this case is not best.

Running them until they explode or catch fire or cause injury is more common.

I threw out a local made electric kettle my wife produced, it was a piece of poorly made unsafe junk.

Subsequently her mother had an incident with the same model at the family home.

The manufacturer have supplied new stoves with "improved safety". Would be interesting to know what that is.

cable diameter improved to 1.5mm up from .75mm for 3 kw supply ....sadly cable now aluminium instead of copper, 3 pin plug fitted sadly one pin connected to sweet fa

Of course these are household not commercial grade apparatus. It was never designed to be used for 6 hours a day 7 days a week and so it broke. Simple really.

Yes but break is one thing: stop working, fail to function. Explode ( if the story is accurate) is something entirely different.

Stove elements even commercial type explode all the time. Some just fizz lightly & some can actaully disintergrate completely. All solid type elements are made of a heating element with a mineral powder insulating material. Called MIMS/Mineral insulated metal sheathed. When moisture gets into the outside sheath it will cause the insulation to break down & then explode. The power outlet & the appliance must be earthed for this to happen, as, if it wasn't then the result would have been an electric shock to who ever was using the appliance. Another cause could have been that the customers overfilled the soup bowl & water shorted out the active & neautral connections of the heating element. My main question is why are the police involved? Is there not a workplace health & safety department here in Thailand? Crime must be getting lower so as to keep the Police busy, they have to cover things like this. Report yesterday on 60% increase in crime over the last year in LoS. Only here!!!!!!

It seem the BIB have ruled out terrorism, claiming the hot plate wasn't a suicide bomber, it was more likely to be a plain suicide.

These appliances are only built for normal home use, not to be used commercially on for many hours a day.

My guess is that the glass surface was already weakening from constant usage and when unplugged, the glass began to cool, the change in temperature causing the glass to crack from the heat pressure inside and the cooler air outside created the explosion. Something like back in the old days when drinking glasses cracked after adding them to hot water from normal room temperature.

It seem the BIB have ruled out terrorism, claiming the hot plate wasn't a suicide bomber, it was more likely to be a plain suicide.

Or could have been Islamic Plate terrorists?

I hope it wont take a week to sort the scene of the explosion out. The chair could be a trip hazard.

Might need some of the RTP's finest to put it back on its feet.