CHAIRMAN: DR. KHALID BIN THANI AL THANI
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: PROF. KHALID MUBARAK AL-SHAFI

World / Asia

Twin blasts in Thai resort town kill one, injure 19

Published: 12 Aug 2016 - 12:00 am | Last Updated: 14 Nov 2021 - 02:28 pm
Peninsula

Hua Hin Beach in Cloudy morning. Photo courtesy: Kriangsak Honchumpae / Wikimedia Commons

 

Bangkok: Twin blasts in Thailand killed one woman and injured 19 people, including foreigners, late Thursday in the popular seaside resort town of Hua Hin, police said.

The two explosions took place thirty minutes apart near bars in the nightlife district of the popular beach town after 10:00 pm (1500 GMT).

"One Thai woman was killed and altogether from the two bombs 19 people were injured. Of those 19, three are in serious condition and seven of the injured are foreigners -- four women and three men," a local police officer from Hua Hin told AFP.

The two blasts were 50 metres (164 feet) apart, he added.

A second officer confirmed the bombings and said police are still investigating a motive and the type of explosives used.

It is common for small blasts to rock Thailand during times of heightened political tension, but there have been few such incidents in the past year and it is rare for tourist sites to be targeted.

Hua Hin, a high-end resort town south of Bangkok, is a popular destination for both local and foreign tourists.

The incident comes ahead of a long weekend in the kingdom, with Thais set to celebrate Queen Sirikit's birthday on Friday.

The blast also come only days before the one year anniversary of the last major bombing in Thailand, an attack in the capital that killed 20 people on August 17, mostly foreign tourists.

The explosive was planted in a popular Hindu shrine in the capital and was the deadliest assault of its kind in recent history.

AFP