Bomb explodes at Karon hotel

KARON: A small bomb smashed windows and cracked a wall of the Baan Karon Hotel on Patak Rd in the early hours of yesterday (Sunday) morning. No one was injured. Pol Capt Chockchai Sutthimeke of Chalong Police Station told the Gazette that the bomb had been planted against an outside wall of the hotel, next to the office of the hotel’s managing director, Chatri Saenglee. There were no guests staying in the two-story, 36-room hotel at the time, and K. Chatri was away in Bangkok on business. The blast damaged windows and knocked chunks out of the surface of the wall over a radius of about seven meters. Pol Capt Somnuck Wannachit of the Phuket Forensic Science Department said that samples from the scene had been sent to Bangkok to ascertain what kind of explosive was used. The tests would take about a month to complete, he said. “I’m not sure what explosive was used – TNT, C4 or some other type,” Capt Somnuck said. “But a bomb like this would certainly be capable of killing people if planted in a crowded place.” Asked about progress in the investigation, Capt Chockchai said, “We need to get more information from the managing director, who will be back in Phuket tomorrow (Tuesday). “However, I don’t think the bomber wanted to kill anyone. It seems more likely it was a threat.”