NARATHIWAT, July 20 – A car bomb in Narathiwat’s Su-ngai Kolok district on Friday morning caused a fire which engulfed a commercial building, but the authorities rescued four persons stranded on the top floor of the building and brought the fire under control.
Muslims worldwide, including in the southernmost Thai provinces, marked the first day of fasting for Ramadan on Friday.
The bomb was set off shortly after 6am in front of a computer shop on Chorenkhet Road in Su-ngai Kolok municipality, and the power of the blast set fire to four rooms of the commercial building.
Four residents fleeing the blaze fled to the building’s rooftop, and were rescued by fire emergency workers. A fire fighting truck with a rescue platform was brought to retrieve four people from atop the building.
Some 10 fire engines rushed to control the fire, preventing its spread to nearby commercial buildings.
No casualties were reported, but overall communications were disrupted in the district.
The bomb caused severe damage to the building, and destroyed four cars and motorcycles at an estimated loss of more than Bt10 million.
The initial investigation indicated that a 50kg homemade bomb was hidden inside a pickup truck parked in front of the building before the explosive was triggered.
Meanwhile, in the nearby province of Yala, a local resident was killed in a roadside bombing on Yala-Betong Road.
The dead man was identified as Manoon Norsiri, while the other victim, identified as Arun Kaenkaewphet, was severely wounded.
The two were returning home from collecting forest products when a bomb estimated at 5kg was triggered by a mobile phone.
The police initially believed that it was the work of the Runda Kumpulan Kecil (RKK) insurgent group, active in the area.
