BANGKOK: Suspected insurgents on Sunday 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, killing a woman and wounding 18 people.
The explosion, which occurred at 10:10 am local time, targeted a vehicle parked outside a building near the Bannang Sata police station, according to police chief Ranon Surawit.
The blast was powerful enough to cause significant damage to nearby houses and dozens of vehicles. Police, along with paratroopers and district officials, swiftly responded to the scene to assess the aftermath of the explosion. They discovered the body of a woman, tragically burned beyond recognition due to the intensity of the blast.
The vehicle involved in the explosion was completely destroyed, complicating efforts to identify its type and owner at this early stage of the investigation. The force of the explosion also shattered glass doors and windows of the residential units within the building.
Colonel Rayon confirmed the casualty toll, stating, “A 45-year-old local woman died while 18 other people were injured, including five who sustained serious injuries.” Among the injured were ten villagers and eight police officers, all of whom were promptly transported to the district hospital for medical treatment.
Following the explosion, authorities secured the area and deployed bomb-disposal units to search for potential secondary devices or traps that insurgents might have set to target responding officials. No additional explosives were found at the scene.
Bannang Sata, located in the southern Thai province of Yala, shares borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah and Perak.
