9 October 2019

Authorities are restricting access to hospitalized victims of a rock-blasting accident that occurred...at a Chinese-backed cement plant located in northern Laos, and several people were arrested following a blast caused by the apparent misuse of stockpiled explosives, local authorities said.

The accident at the plant, owned by Ket Thao Lao co. Ltd, claimed the life of one victim and injured 20 others, when debris from an explosion tore through nearby Phonemany village in Luang Prabang province’s Nam Bak district...damaging 80 houses.

...[E]ight people, including one Chinese national were seriously injured.

...[V]illagers suspected the company used more explosives than usual because the explosion seemed more powerful.

[...]

...When Ket Thao Lao bought the factory in January 2019, the Chinese man proposed a renewal of their contract but was turned down because the new owners wanted to reduce costs by doing the blasting in-house.

“The new owner found that the Chinese [subcontractor] owned 12 tons of explosive materials in four spots on the mountain, so the new owner told the subcontractor to destroy the explosive materials, in a memorandum of understanding that holds the subcontractor responsible for any damages,” the notice said.

The blast that caused the accident was orchestrated by the subcontractor. They were attempting to detonate the remaining explosives.

The notice from the department identified the detained individuals as the Chinese subcotractor and his family.

Khamtanh Somphanvilay, deputy director of the commerce and industry department...said...“When the rock was blasted, the incident occurred unexpectedly. This is [due to] the carelessness and technical fault of the technician in charge of the blasting,” Khamtanh Somphanvilay said.

The cement plant donated 10 million kip (slightly more than $1100) to help the victims of the accident.