Capt Ronnaphoom Phermpoon of the Phuket City Police was called to the scene at 5am.
On arriving at the shophouse unit, police saw the shopfront glass across the ground, a wooden seat had been sent tumbling and letters from the ARTS Factory Co Ltd sign above the door were left scattered.
In the kitchen area at the back of the unit, appliances and furniture had been damaged, ceiling panels had been brought down and even roofing segments had been displaced by the blast.
By the time police arrived, Chiewchan Kornsawat, 40, who lived in the shophouse unit alone, had already been rushed to hospital.
Chart Baonuwong, 46, who lived next door, told police that he was woken by the sound of an explosion and ran outside to see what had happened.
Mr Chart said that he saw Mr Chiewchan walking out of his unit with some burns on his body, prompting him to call the 191 police hotline and ask for an ambulance.
Before Mr Chiewchan was taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town, he explained to Mr Chart that he had come downstairs to the kitchen to wash his clothes.
He turned the light on, and there was an explosion, Mr Chart related to police.
Mr Chart also explained that the ensuing fire in the kitchen was small and quickly disappeared by itself, so he did not call for firefighters to come.
“At this stage, we believe that the explosion and fire was caused by a leaking gas cylinder,” Capt Ronnaphoom reported.
“Mr Chiewchan may not have known that there was gas leaking in the kitchen, and by turning on the light he may have caused a spark that started the explosion,” he said.
However, Capt Ronnaphoom noted that police have not yet concluded their investigation.
“We have to wait for the forensic police to investigate the scene before we can conclude our investigation,” he said.