Bomb scare in Rawai

RAWAI: Chalong Police closed the road along the Rawai beachfront at midday yesterday for about 30 minutes while bomb squad officers attended to a suspicious package left on the footpath opposite the Mama Klong restaurant.

After local villagers reported the package to police, officers taped off a “safe zone” before moving in to disarm the suspected bomb.

The incident caused much commotion and concern among local business owners and visitors at the southern beach.

Chalong Police Superintendent Col Samarn Chainarong told the Gazette today that “It was not a real bomb. It was nothing but plastic; it didn’t even have a locking pin.”

However, Col Saman declined to describe the “fake bomb” in detail, leaving doubt about what exactly had caused such a reaction.

“I must ask the media not to show this news because it’s not good… Although it’s not a real bomb… please don’t create a scare,” Col Samarn said.

Phuket Provincial Police Commander Gen Decha Budnampetch this morning reported the incident to Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit at the Provincial Security Committee meeting at the Katina Hotel.

“The police checked the package and found that it looked like a bomb, but it was not a real bomb,” Gen Decha reported.

Governor Niran acknowledged the report and responded, “Please help to take care of security because we are a tourism province and tourism is very sensitive to this kind of news.”