A 50-year-old British tourist was killed on New Year’s night in Pattaya, Thailand, after a firework he tried to light prematurely exploded.
Gary Mclaren, who is from Corby in Northamptonshire, was celebrating New Year’s eve at a club with his fiance and friends at the beach resort in East Thailand.
Reportedly, McLaren purchased the firework in front of the club just after midnight. When he tried to light it, it did not go off—only smoke came out. When he tried again, the firework went off.
“Then, there was a big explosion in his face, and he fell back,” Wassana Ngontai, a first-hand witness told Fox News.
“Around midnight, Mr. McLaren attempted to light up a large firework, but it failed to go off at first. After that, it suddenly exploded and killed him at the scene,” Lt. Col. Somboon Ua-Samanmaitree of the Thai Tourist Police said, according to the BBC.
Rescue workers arrived at the scene and tried to resuscitate him but to no avail.
The MotoGP International Road-Racing Teams Association (IRTA), McLaren’s employer, noted his death on Twitter on Wednesday: “Terrible news this morning. Our colleague and friend, Gary McLaren from IRTA, passed away last night,” it said. “Our thoughts are with his loved ones. He will be sorely missed.”
McLaren’s former colleagues at Team Suzuki also posted a message: “We are very shocked and sad to learn of the death of Gary McLaren. Gary worked as a Data Acquisition Engineer at Suzuki for 11 years and remained a good friend to us all while he continued working in the paddock for IRTA. Our thoughts with his loved ones, we’ll really miss him!”
