[wayne]

Some very weak lifts on these shells (cringe!):

http://video.uk.msn....v5:share:email:

Thankfully its reported that no one was injured, but I wouldn't want to be near those mortars when the shells decided to return to earth!

An eye opener for all the hand firers out there!

Cheers,

Wayne.

[portfire]

OMG! I was 2' away from a 3" muzzle break last year. Thats why we wear PPE

[Richard H]

Looks clear to me that the mortar tubes were not the same size as the shell as opposed to weak lifts... major operator error! Still, does show what would happen in the worst case.

[Richard H]

Actually, I think this may be deliberate - I've heard of some pretty wacky displays in Thailand. Don't think this would go down too well in the UK.

[Arthur Brown]

I've seen similar done deliberately purportedly in a Baltic state, It's fun by their standards but may not suit UK HSE and their friends!

[crystal palace fireworks]

Yeah looks deliberate to me too, you would not get me near that lot without me wearing some bomb disposal type PPE,....... mind you I would love to see a film of HSE bods watching this clip just for the reaction (shock on there faces).

[bangkokpyro]

I don't think for a minute the low breaks were intentional.
The mortars were set up on a very wet beach and probably the tubes are not waterproof allowing the lift charge to get wet or damp causing a low break.
Shells and tubes can be purchase by anyone here on some public holidays like New Year and the Kings birthday. Of course there are always idiots who use them without sufficient safety distances or put in shells upside down through ignorance. I was on a beach in Cha Am near to Hua Hin this New Year.
The 2 mile long stretch of beach was like a war zone at midnight with just about everone there letting off their own firework stash in complete disregard for their own safety or that of others. All good fun until someone gets hurt!

[Richard H]

I love how we get field reports from all over the world! Thanks for the insight. Assumed most people in the east would be using GRP tubes these days - I imagine a soggy beach and cardboard tubes are less than optimal!

[Mixologist]

Those arent small shells though!

When i was in Thailand the best i could find was some 3" - perhaps i wasnt looking hard enough.

How big can the consumer go over there?!

[bangkokpyro]

Technicaly all fireworks are illegal here unless you have a registered company related to pyrotechnics but this is Thailand and most laws are only enforced when the powers that be feel like having a crackdown.
You can buy 3,4,5 and 6 inch shells and fibreglass mortar tubes in Chinatown in Bangkok if you know where to look and in places like Samui Island and Pattaya here are firework shops that sell shells to anyone with the money to buy them during holiday periods.
Around New year, Loi Katong, Kings birthday and a few other public holidays there are shops all over the place that sell fireworks illegaly including peole who just set up stalls on the beach or roam the beach areas with a bag full for sale.
Everything is ok as long as no one gets hurt then it's a question of how much it is going to cost you to 'compensate' the injured parties involved.
Needless to say if you are a foreigner the cost is going to be 10 times what a Thai would have to pay.
Last year someone was decapitated by a 100kg thai rocket launched at the Yasathorn festival up north that went off trajectory.
No questions asked as to how , why or a crackdown on the lack of safety or regulation involved in the event just some negotiations with the dead man's family and a few hundred paid in cash ...end of story.