Tap water resuming after Nakhon Pathom accident

Workers search for missing colleagues after a large water pipe burst in the basement of a TTW Plc treatment plant in Bang Len district of Nakhon Pathom on Friday afternoon. One worker died after being struck by a steel bar in the flooded chamber. (Photo from @RescueThailandClub Facebook page)

Tap water supplies are expected to resume in parts of Nakhon Pathom and Samut Sakhon provinces by Sunday morning after a fatal pipe burst at a local tap water plant.

Officials of the Provincial Waterworks Authority (PWA) in Nakhon Pathom said staff at the plant operated by TTW Plc were repairing the facility and drying pumps.

The pumps were to be gradually activated from Saturday and tap water services would completely resume by Sunday morning because water pressure in the mains had to be increased slowly to prevent a burst.

The PWA office in Om Noi municipality in Samut Sakhon said five pumps at the plant had to be dried first and resumption of services would begin with hospitals before being directed to housing estates.

Chaiwat Utaiwan, managing director of the SET-listed water supplier TTW, said the burst occurred in a main pipe at the company's Bang Len plant near the Tha Chin River on Friday afternoon. It is believed that workers had not closed all valves and cut off electricity as required before repairing a check-valve system.

A 40-year-old worker who was a native of Samut Sakhon was killed under a fallen steel bar in a flooded chamber of the plant and three others were injured. Mr Chaiwat said the company would take good care of the affected workers.

The incident affected water supplies in parts of Krathumban and Muang districts of Samut Sakhon. as well as parts of Samphran, Nakhon Chaisri, Phutthamonthon and Muang districts of Nakhon Pathom, he said.