Railway bomb kills three in southern Thailand

Three maintenance workers were killed and four were injured by a bomb blast this morning on a railway in Songkhla province, southern Thailand. The workers were repairing the tracks after they were damaged by an explosion on Saturday which derailed and damaged a freight train but caused no injuries.

At 12.50pm on Saturday, freight train 707 from Hat Yai in Songkhla to Padang Besar in Malaysia derailed and overturned in the Tha Pho subdistrict in Sadao district after a bomb went off. The explosion damaged 11 of the train’s 20 carriages. The train’s four members of staff were unhurt.

Train travel between Thailand and Malayasia was suspended after Saturday’s blast to allow the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) to investigate, causing major disruption on the popular route.

On Sunday, officials from the military, police, provincial administrative department, bomb disposal units, and railway officials jointly inspected the scene. The tracks were heavily damaged, torn in parts, and some of the train’s bogies were still on the tracks.

Officials found a two-metre crater beneath the tracks. Police believe it was caused by a homemade bomb blast. On several carriages, the wheels were blown off.

On Monday, machinery was brought in to lift and move the wreckage. Maintenance workers began repairing the tracks.

Today, another bomb detonated not far from where train 707 derailed, killing three maintenance workers and injuring four more.

Police have not yet named the deceased. Police said they would provide more information after conducting an investigation.

A team from the Hat Yai Maintenance Unit is working on repairing the tracks. The area remains closed.

Parts of Songkhla province are considered Southern Thailand Insurgency’s conflict zone. However, the province is generally considered safer than Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, with statistically fewer explosions and attacks.

It’s not clear at this stage whether insurgents are behind the two railway attacks.