3 Apr 2014

Likely WW2 bomb explodes, killing seven

9:45 am on 3 April 2014

A suspected World War II bomb has exploded in a warehouse in the Thai capital, Bangkok, killing at least seven people and injuring 19.

The scene inside the warehouse after the explosion.

The scene inside the warehouse after the explosion. Photo: AFP

Construction workers had found the 225kg bomb and sold it to a suburban scrap-metal merchant , believing it to be inactive, the BBC reports. Workers using a blow-torch to take it apart detonated it in the process.

The massive blast destroyed the warehouse and created a large crater. It also damaged nearby houses and started a large fire.

"The warehouse workers thought the bomb was no longer active so they used a metal cutter to cut into it, causing the explosion," local police chief Virasak Foythong told the AFP news agency.

Police bomb squad chief Kamthorn Auicharoen told the Associated Press agency it was "likely this is a bomb dropped from a plane during World War II".