Seven injured in car comb on Thailand Tourist Island

Asia-Pacific, News April 11, 2015 , by IRIA No Comments

Seven people, including an Italian girl, were injured when a bomb packed in a pickup truck exploded in a shopping mall car park on the popular Thai tourist island of Samui, officials said on Saturday. Samui is popular with foreign tourists for its pristine beaches.

The bomb was reportedly hidden in a vehicle parked at the Central Samui Department store in Surat Thani province, exploded late last night. Seven persons were injured in the blast while four others fainted due to shock.

Six Thais and a 12-year-old Italian girl were treated for minor injuries and were all released from hospital, according to Poonsak Sophonsasmorong, island’s disaster prevention and mitigation chief.

Thai authorities believed the vehicle was stolen from one of the three southernmost Thai provinces plagued by Islamic insurgency.

Surat Thani Governor Chatpong Chatphum said the blast also damaged over 10 other cars.

It could not be ascertained if the blast was linked to the conflict in Thailand’s three southern border provinces where an insurgency has killed over 6,000 people since 2004.

A government spokesman however steered speculation in another direction, saying the attack might be linked to incidents earlier this year in Bangkok. “Initial reports back the theory that [the Samui bombers] are the same group that [set off bombs] in Bangkok,” said Maj Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd.

Samui island is one of the country’s top tourist destinations among foreign and Thai tourists. There have been reports car bomb attacks by insurgents on other tourist spots in southern provinces, but have never targeted Samui.

Koh Samui is in Surat Thani province, further north from the three provinces which have seen repeated violence since 2004.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha ordered security in the capital, Bangkok, to be ramped up in February after two bomb blasts outside a luxury shopping centre injured one person.