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'Bomb suit' fails, causing 2 deaths in Narathiwat
By The Nation on Sunday
Published on January 2, 2011
A powerful bomb exploded in Narathiwat yesterday morning, killing two bomb-disposal officers and injuring nine other people, including five Border Patrol police officers.
Police were alerted by a local resident in the southern border province's Sungai Padi district who reported that two young men on a motorcycle left a suspicious object on the roadside. The object was a steel box that was later found to contain a home-made explosive device.
Wearing a "bomb suit", Police Senior Sgt-Major Kitti Mingsuk, 50, was examining the object when the bomb exploded; it was believed to be detonated by a mobile phone. He was killed instantly at the scene while his colleague Sgt-Major Krissada Thong-o, who was about 80 metres away, was seriously injured and pronounced dead after being admitted to hospital.
Four civilians, including a boy, were injured by the impact of the explosion. Two houses next to where the bomb was found were damaged.
The bomb-disposal robot used by the team malfunctioned when it was less than one metre from the suspicious object, prompting Kitti to examine the device. It was then that the explosion occurred, according to Border Patrol Police commander Lt-General Paitoon Choochaiya. When asked why the bomb suit failed to save Kitti's life, Paitoon said that would be investigated by experts.
The incident raised questions about the effectiveness of the bomb suit, as bomb-disposal officers had believed it could protect them from the impact of bombs.
Narathiwat Governor Thanon Vechakornkanont said the explosion occurred near a place the provincial authorities had selected for Buddhists to give alms to monks early in the morning as part of New Year celebrations. Fortunately, rain had forced changes of location.
'Bomb suit' fails, causing 2 deaths in Narathiwat
By The Nation on Sunday
Published on January 2, 2011
A powerful bomb exploded in Narathiwat yesterday morning, killing two bomb-disposal officers and injuring nine other people, including five Border Patrol police officers.
Police were alerted by a local resident in the southern border province's Sungai Padi district who reported that two young men on a motorcycle left a suspicious object on the roadside. The object was a steel box that was later found to contain a home-made explosive device.
Wearing a "bomb suit", Police Senior Sgt-Major Kitti Mingsuk, 50, was examining the object when the bomb exploded; it was believed to be detonated by a mobile phone. He was killed instantly at the scene while his colleague Sgt-Major Krissada Thong-o, who was about 80 metres away, was seriously injured and pronounced dead after being admitted to hospital.
Four civilians, including a boy, were injured by the impact of the explosion. Two houses next to where the bomb was found were damaged.
The bomb-disposal robot used by the team malfunctioned when it was less than one metre from the suspicious object, prompting Kitti to examine the device. It was then that the explosion occurred, according to Border Patrol Police commander Lt-General Paitoon Choochaiya. When asked why the bomb suit failed to save Kitti's life, Paitoon said that would be investigated by experts.
The incident raised questions about the effectiveness of the bomb suit, as bomb-disposal officers had believed it could protect them from the impact of bombs.
Narathiwat Governor Thanon Vechakornkanont said the explosion occurred near a place the provincial authorities had selected for Buddhists to give alms to monks early in the morning as part of New Year celebrations. Fortunately, rain had forced changes of location.
