Shocking moment ambulance oxygen tank explodes while patient is loaded into the back
This is the shocking moment an ambulance exploded while a patient was being loaded into the back on a stretcher.
The man was being wheeled into the vehicle when an oxygen container suddenly burst into a flames and a cloud black smoke in Suphanburi, central Thailand, on Tuesday afternoon (June 23).
Terrified staff ran for cover while the elderly man limped from the gurney and hobbled away. A paramedic is seen on CCTV escaping from the ambulance cabin as it is filled with smoke.
The driver Chakrit Paomongkol, 37, said he prepared the oxygen for the patient before he heard a leak and it exploded.
Chakrit said: "I drove the ambulance to the stop and was preparing the equipment for the patient that was about to board.
"While opening the tank I heard the sound of the gas leak but did not give it much attention because the staff had just changed the tank earlier, so I didn't think there could be a problem.
"Then while the hospital staff were about to load the patient onto the car the tank exploded."
Firefighters rushed to the hospital and spent 20 minutes extinguishing the fire before they let the police take over the case.
Officers collected evidence to investigate about the explosion.
Police Major Rangsan Lomthongsai said they believed that the gas exploded after it was ignited by a spark.
He said: "We think the oxygen leaked out of the tank and then there might be a spark in the car that ignited the explosion.
"We will bring the oxygen tank back to the station to examine it to look for the cause of the leak that caused the explosion."
The man was being wheeled into the vehicle when an oxygen container suddenly burst into a flames and a cloud black smoke in Suphanburi, central Thailand, on Tuesday afternoon (June 23).
Terrified staff ran for cover while the elderly man limped from the gurney and hobbled away. A paramedic is seen on CCTV escaping from the ambulance cabin as it is filled with smoke.
The driver Chakrit Paomongkol, 37, said he prepared the oxygen for the patient before he heard a leak and it exploded.
Chakrit said: "I drove the ambulance to the stop and was preparing the equipment for the patient that was about to board.
"While opening the tank I heard the sound of the gas leak but did not give it much attention because the staff had just changed the tank earlier, so I didn't think there could be a problem.
"Then while the hospital staff were about to load the patient onto the car the tank exploded."
Firefighters rushed to the hospital and spent 20 minutes extinguishing the fire before they let the police take over the case.
Officers collected evidence to investigate about the explosion.
Police Major Rangsan Lomthongsai said they believed that the gas exploded after it was ignited by a spark.
He said: "We think the oxygen leaked out of the tank and then there might be a spark in the car that ignited the explosion.
"We will bring the oxygen tank back to the station to examine it to look for the cause of the leak that caused the explosion."