Two deaths reported at Thailand biomass power site

It has been reported that two men passed away on 10 June while trying to rescue people caught in a gas leak at an under construction biomass power plant in Bangkok, Thailand.

According to local news reports the two men, a New Zealand engineer and a local employee, tried to save a husband and wife who had passed out in a three-storey ventilation chimney after inhaling toxic gas. Unfortunately neither returned after venturing into the structure, but the couple were rescued by other workers.

Police rushed to the scene at the Plan Eco Energy construction site, next to Para Veneer 2002 – a subsidiary of rubber wood toy producer Plan Creations.

Plan Creations begun building the biomass plant, which would use leftover rubber sawdust and tree roots to fuel a 5MW power generator, to supply its own electricity needs while selling the excess to a local authority.

The police investigation is on-going.