Bangkok, Sept 17: One Western tourist was killed
late tonight when several blasts ripped through a
neighbourhood in southern Thailand's Hat Yai city, which is
popular with foreigners, police said.
"One male foreign tourist was killed but we don't
know what his nationality is yet," a police officer, who did
not want to be named, told a news agency.
Local television stations reported that the victim
was Canadian and the first foreign tourist to be killed in
more than two years of unrest in the area.
Police Major General Paitoom Pattanasophon said five
bombs exploded simultaneously in tourist spots in Hat Yai's
business district, including two department stores and a
hotel.
Police put the total death toll at two. Television
reports said five were killed and another 67 wounded.
The blasts occurred at the Odean and Big C stores, as
well as the Lee Garden hotel, according to officials and news
reports.
Television news showed images of bloodied victims
lying in restaurants or being led to safety by rescue
personnel, as vehicles burned in streets strewn with
shattered glass and overturned tables and chairs.
One body was shown covered with a white sheet next to
an overturned motorcycle. Dozens of other motorcycles and
larger vehicles also appeared to be destroyed.
"There are injured people, but it is too early to
know how many," one police officer told a news agency.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, September 17, 2006, 00:00