Explosion in Yala and Sungai Kolok districts results in two injuries
In an explosion that shook the districts of Sungai Kolok in Narathiwat and Mueang in Yala on Saturday night, Royal Thai Police (RTP) are currently on the hunt for the individuals behind the incident that left two innocent bystanders injured.
The explosion in Sungai Kolok resulted in no causalities, whilst its counterpart in Yala left two innocent bystanders injured, reported the police yesterday. The identity of the victims is revealed to be Sapina Samaeng and Phimlaphat Silarot, both 22 years old. As a result of the explosion, they were immediately transported to a local hospital, where they remain as of yesterday. The RTP further mentioned that upon inquiry, the victims didn’t observe any unusual activity leading up to the incident.
Specialist explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams have been deployed to scrutinise the explosion area for any potential evidence that could be instrumental in the ongoing investigation.
Concurrently, another explosion in Narathiwat occurred around 40 metres away from a makeshift security post in Moo 1, located in Tambon Pasemat of the Sungai Kolok district. Chief of Sungai Kolok police, Police Colonel Pratchaya Baite, shared that preliminary investigations point towards a well-coordinated effort by multiple individuals, each playing a distinct part, reported Bangkok Post.
According to Pratchaya, a car containing crudely assembled bombs made its way to a railway crossing close to the checkpoint, carried out by the first team of suspects. Subsequently, a second team opened fire at the security checkpoint to introduce an element of chaos and diversion, resulting in the explosion. Post this, the first team was safely picked up by a third team, he further elucidated.
Regrettably, only one of the two explosives, suspected to have been sourced from neighbouring Malaysia, detonated, he added. The force from the blast caused the other explosive to tumble off the car, landing straight onto the railway track. The undetonated bomb was successfully recovered by an EOD team yesterday morning, as mentioned by Pratchaya.
“The explosion investigation now has a lead in the form of the Songkhla-registered Toyota used in the blitz, the owner of which is being pursued by the authorities. In a surprising turn of events, the vehicle has not been reported missing thus far.”
