A dream holiday has turned into the holiday from hell for dozens of travellers when an explosion shook the popular Phuket resort area of Karon Beach.
Around 30 tourists and resort workers were injured in the blast, which was caused by a cloud of gas located next to the pool at the Phuket Orchid Resort.
Staff at the resort told local paper the Phuket Gazette that a cloud of gas formed next to the pool area led to a chemical reaction with the chlorine, which ultimately exploded.
The resort was adamant that the blast did not take place due to a bomb.
Official reports have confirmed that 26 foreigners and 10 Thais were rushed to Patong Hospital for emergency treatment. Due to the high likelihood of those affected suffering from the effects of chlorine inhalation, victims have already been relocated to the island’s major hospitals for further treatment.
One Norwegian tourist told the Phuket Gazette that the major symptoms suffered by those affected included coughing and difficulty in breathing, headaches and sore throats.
- Fun in the sun turns into a nightmare for more than 30 tourists at the Phuket Orchid Resort, Karon Beach.
“I heard about three or four ‘explosions’. There were about 100 people around the pool,” he said.
Medical staff at Vachira Hospital has confirmed that four patents were being treated at the hospital from 12.30pm today.
“They are under observation and being administered oxygen to help them breathe,” the hospital staffer said.
- The explosion occurred this morning at the Phuket Orchid Resort & Spa at Karon Beach, a short distance from the popular tourist precinct at Patong.
Many of those affected were sent to the island’s major hospital, Bangkok Hospital in Phuket Town.
A hospital orderly said that few details were available, as the first of the injured arrived. “Right now we are just trying to help them as quickly as possible as they arrive,” he said.
“The most seriously affected is a pregnant woman. She is being administered oxygen,” he said.
