Pattani twin bombings: At least 52 injured

The number of injured victims from the twin bombings at a busy supermarket in Muang, Pattani in southern Thailand has risen to 52, with children among the victims, said security officials at the scene.

The bombing incident happened at 2.30pm, local time (3.30 Malaysian time) when the supermarket was packed with customers.

"The first bomb exploded just outside the parking lot at 2.10pm, while the second bomb, suspected to be a car bomb, exploded 20 minutes later in front of the entrance to the supermarket," Muang police chief, Maj Kiratik Waeyusof told the media, here, today.

The twin explosions, he said, created panic among the many shoppers and workers of the supermarket, forcing them to flee and take cover.

Kiratik said six of the victims suffered serious injuries from the explosions and were taken to Pattani Hospital with the other victims for treatment.

A security source said the pickup truck which was used in the second explosion at the entrance of the supermarket was stolen in Yala some time ago and the authorities were still trying to trace the owner of the vehicle.

Today's bombing incident at the popular supermarket followed several other violent incidents in the volatile region in recent weeks.

Earlier, spokesman for the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC), Col Pramote Prom-in confirmed the incident when contacted from Bangkok, saying that the explosions caused injuries to several shoppers and workers at the supermarket.

"Many were injured but no one died," he said, adding that security forces rushed to the scene of the incident, which has since been cordoned off to facilitate the investigation.

Army Region 4 chief, Lt Gen. Piyawat Nakwanich and other security officers were also at the location.

No one has claimed responsibility for the latest bombing incident to occur in the volatile region.

Defence Ministry spokesman Maj Gen Kongcheep Tantravanich in a statement said Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwon, who is also Defence Minister, had instructed the relevant authorities to take care of the injured.

He also wanted them to pursue the perpetrators of the "barbaric and cruel crime" which targeted innocent people, Kongcheep said.

Meanwhile, representative of the United Nations Children''s Fund (UNICEF) in Thailand, Thomas Davin in an immediate statement condemned the indiscriminate attack on civilian areas where children and their families are known to be present.

"No child's life should ever be put at risk in this way. This is wholly unacceptable," he said.

-- BERNAMA