Four people were killed and 30 others injured, including foreign tourists, in a bloody series of devastating explosions in the South that mostly targeted crowded areas and tourist spots.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) officers who analysed each scene have concluded that all the explosions were connected as the devices used in every attack were similar and they also used mobile phones to trigger the blasts.

The bombs in each attack were packed with ball bearings, similar to bombs used in past political disputes and the explosion at Erawan Shrine on August 17 last year, the officers stated.

The first explosion happened at Centre Point market in Trang on Thursday afternoon. One person was killed and seven were injured when the bomb exploded.

Later that night, two bombs exploded at the front of Johnny Bar and Rain Tree Bar in the busy tourist area of Hua Hin district in Prachuap Khiri Khan province. One person was killed and 20 others, including 10 foreigners, suffered injuries.

Yesterday, early on Mother’s Day, three bombs exploded in Surat Thani soon after a Buddhist ceremony at the city centre. The attack killed one person and injured three.

One witness of the attack, named Pongpol, said he was on his way to the market when he heard a loud blast and saw everybody running. He said he was stunned by the scene and very frightened.

Two bombs also exploded at Phuket. Fortunately, only one person suffered minor injuries. Police in Phuket said the bombs were also IEDs.

Second attack on Hua Hin

Late yesterday morning, Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Hua Hin suffered its second bomb attack, this time the location was at Hua Hin Clock Tower, near the busy bus stop. Two bombs at this spot killed one victim and injured three others.

At approximately the same time, in Phang Nga, two bombs went off at the Bang Niang Market at about 9.20am but without causing any casualty. Earlier in the day, a fire also suspiciously happened in the market destroying more than 80 shops.

National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvaree said NCPO leader and Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha expressed his condolences toward all the victims of the attacks and promised that the government will take care of everyone affected by the blasts.

“Meanwhile, I would like to ask everyone not to panic and continue your daily life normally, but with care. Right now, the authorities have provided security for all people as best as we can, and I would like the media not to spread fear,” Winthai said.

 

Police are looking into these incidents to see if the fires were the work of arsonists.

“I woke up at about 3am because I started smelling smoke,” Huad Engchuan, a 65-year-old security guard at Lee Mart, said. He has worked at Lee Mart for five years now.

Located in the heart of Trang’s main town, Lee Mart is a big two-storey wholesale store, and the blaze there has shocked both locals and tourists.

It took 10 fire trucks a few hours to bring the blaze under control. The damage has been estimated at about Bt100 million.

“I believe the fire might have started at about 2am, because when I woke up it had already engulfed the building,” Huad said.

In Phang Nga province, also in the South, fire ravaged through more than 80 shops in a tourist zone at about 2.15am. Most of these shops sold souvenirs, clothes and toys.

In Krabi province, a Pokemon Go player reported a fire in the commercial zone of Ao Nang area at about 3.15am.

“I was trying to catch a Pokemon around the area when I noticed smoke billowing out of the souvenir shops. So I rushed to my friends and we went to a police station to report the incident,” Piyachart Saengdaeng, 25, said.

It took more than three hours to extinguish the fire, which engulfed five shops. Officials believe the damage to be worth over Bt10 million.

In Nakhon Si Thammarat province, a small fire also erupted inside a Tesco-Lotus branch at dawn yesterday. The damages have been estimated to be about Bt100,000.