At least four people are dead and thirty-five people, including ten tourists, have been injured in a series of coordinated bomb blasts in Thailand.
Two bombs rocked the busy seaside resort of Hua Hin last night, with another explosion there this morning.
Five further explosions have been reported in Phuket, Trang, Phang Nga and Surat Thani, where two bombs exploded outside police stations on Mother’s Day.
#URGENTE Doble atentado
con bomba ? sacude el distrito
de #HuaHin, en el sur de Tailandia ? pic.twitter.com/koNgxkOIcF— revolucionarios juan (@juanorimu) August 12, 2016
Tourist Shane Brett told ABC in Australia he witnessed the chaos:
“I was at a bar in the main bar district in Hua Hin right outside the Hilton hotel and at first I heard kind of a bang … and everyone kind of panicked,” Brett said.
On the walk back to his hotel he saw “a good few people injured and the whole area just panicking … the whole area was just shut down with police cars, ambulances.”
Hua Hin police superintendent General Sithichai Srisopacharoenrath told the media it is believed the bombs were detonated by remote control and hidden among plant pots on the bustling street. Investigators have recovered a Samsung mobile phone they believe was used by attackers and a number of suspects are in custody.
No organisation has claimed responsibility for the attacks, with police blaming ‘local sabotage’ rather than terrorism led by insurgent groups from the south of the country. Political tensions are escalated in Thailand following a referendum on a new constitution last Sunday.
The names of the tourists injured, ranging in age from 16 to 48, has been released by Thai authorities. While Thai prime minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha has called for calm, Phuket international airport, as well as many roads and railways stations have been closed and tourists have been warned against travelling to Thailand for the time being.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has advised against all travel to or through the southern provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla specifically.
