One dead, 18 others injured in car bomb explosion in Thailand’s Yala

BANGKOK - Suspected insurgents detonated a homemade bomb hidden in a vehicle parked outside a building in Yala’s Bannang Sata district in southern Thailand near the Malaysian border on June 30, killing a woman and injuring 18 people.

The explosion occurred at 10.10am on the roadside in front of the residential building of the Bannang Sata police station, said the station’s police chief Ranon Surawit.

Houses and dozens of vehicles nearby also suffered damage due to the powerful explosion, he said.

Police, paratroopers and district officials went to the scene immediately after the blast and found a woman’s body burned beyond recognition.

The vehicle was reduced to a metal heap, making it hard for officials to identify the type and owner for now. The blast’s impact also shattered doors’ and windows’ glass of the apartment units of the building.

“A 45-year-old local woman died while 18 other people were injured, including five, who were seriously injured,” said Col Rayon.

Police said the slain victim could not be identified yet, while the injured victims were 10 villagers and eight police officers. Those injured were sent to the district hospital for treatment.

Officials cordoned off the scene and bomb-disposal police were sent in first to check for possible booby traps for fear that the insurgents would detonate a second bomb to ambush the officials.

No more bombs were found at the scene.

Bannang Sata is in the southern Thai district Yala, which borders the Malaysian states Kedah and Perak. THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK