PATTANI, 31 May 2013 Officials have cordoned off areas in Mayo district of Pattani province in search of armed robbers that struck a Kasikorn Bank money van and exchanged gunfire with security guards, resulting in two fatalities.
Police inspected the body of an unidentified man shot dead by officials after he and his accomplices on a pickup truck and a motorcycle robbed the cash-carrying van that belonged to Kasikorn Bank’s Palat branch in Mayo district.
A security guard for the bank was wounded in the gunfire exchange during the robbery and later died at Panare hospital.
The remaining robbers fled on a pickup truck, but then abandoned their vehicle after one of its tires was punctured by officials’ gunshots. Several cars belonging to local commuters also had their tires punctured by caltrops laid by the fleeing robbers.
According to Pattani police commander Ekkaphop PrasitWatthanachai, the robbers must have gone into hiding in the locality, and officials are searching for them in Mayo district and Panare district. The pickup truck used by the robbers was stolen from Panare district on May 8.
