Bomb Explosion in Hat Yai

[arjay]

We're just picking up news of a Bomb Explosion in the centre of Hat Yai. Two dead and many seriously injured. I believe tourists. Presumably a further extension of the troubles in the south.

This is news we're watching on Thai TV, so am not totally sure of the details. Songkla was menioned, but I believe that was because Hat Yai is in Songkla province.

[arjay]

It's just reached the Bangkok Post breaking news:

One killed, a dozen wounded in Hat Yai bombs

Three bombs went off in central Hat Yai town of Songkhla at about 9pm Saturday, killing at least one person and wounding about a dozen others.

Most of the victims were night shoppers. Police said the blasts went off at busy shopping spots near Odean shopping centre, Lee Gardens Hotel and a restaurant in the business district.

The Fourth Army refused to say who were responsible for the attacks, or whether it was linked to the muslim militants. It said its bomb disposal units were assisting the local police in clearing the scenes and would only offer comments when more evidence was gathered.

[beer monkey]

here's more..

HAT YAI, Thailand - Three bombs exploded almost simultaneously at two department stores and a hotel in the southern Thai town of Hat Yai on Saturday, wounding several people, police and the army said.

"I've had a report there might have been people killed too," Southern Army commander Ongkorn Thongprasom told ITV. The television station said one person had been killed and Channel 7 put the death toll at two.

There was no immediate confirmation from police near a region where more than 1,700 people have been killed since January 2004 in separatist violence in the three far south provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala.

A Reuters reporter in the town, where at least one person was killed by a bomb at the airport in April last year, said ambulance sirens wailed as they rushed the wounded to hospital.



A police officer said several people had been confirmed wounded by the bombs in the town, but was unable to give a number.

Last year's bomb at the airport was one of very few attacks outside the three far south provinces, where most people are Muslim and speak a Malay dialect, since the violence erupted there.

But the town switched off its mobile telephone network, apparently fearing other bombs might have been planted which could be set off by remote control, a method often used by militants in the far south.

[beer monkey]

and this from the nation....

Five killed, 50 injured in Hat Yai blasts

Hat Yai, Songkhla - Five people were killed and over 50 others were injured in four bomb attacks Saturday night.

The four bombs went off nearly at the same time at 9 pm.

The first blast occurred at the entrance to This' Wonder Pub located in the underground floor of Odion Shopping Mall Center on Thammanoon Withi Road.


Then, another bomb went off at the entrance of the car park of Odion Shopping Mall on the side of Sanehha Nusorn Road.


The third bomb exploded in front of a massage parlour about 70 metres away from the two first bombs.


The fourth bomb exploded in front of Big C superstore.


Police said the bomb at the massage parlour killed five men immediately because the blast occurred while they were walking into the parlour.


About 50 injured people had been rushed to the Hat Yai Hospital.


The sounds of the blasts prompted some 1,000 Thai and foreign tourists to flee from their hotels, causing turmoil on the roads.


Following the bombs, many entertainment venues asked the patrons to leave and they closed down for fear of more attacks.


Fourth Army Area commander Lt Gen Ongkorn Thongprasom said he had deployed bomb disposal officers to Hat Yai to check for more bombs and ordered the cancellation of mobile phone signals in the area for fear that militants would use mobile phones to detonate more bombs.


Some businessmen in Hat Yai said they had received warnings from the authorities that the militants might launch attacks to mark the anniversary of the Patani State on September 16.


The Nation

[Bump]

From Thai Visa

Senior Police Officer Ongkorn Thongprasom said police had received reports that such bomb attacks were likely between September 16 and 20.

"After this bombing, we have to seriously discuss security measures for the area. For sure, the impact on tourism will be large," he said.


Maybe the time to do that was several hundred bombings ago

[BKKSTAN]

They are going to keep escalating the security in the region until they get Islamic extremists involved with suicide bombings,then it will be to late to worry about tourism anywhere in Thailand.They should learn the lessons from the war in Iraq!Once the suicide bomber element enters the picture,they will have fewer choices on settling the issues in the South.Those issues are ,IMO,easily negotiable at this time and none of the issues are a threat to the welfare of Thailand!

[Bump]

Ouch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted Thai visa


Hat Yai fears heavy losses as tourists flee

BANGKOK: -- More than 7,000 tourists have cancelled visits to Songkhla's Hat Yai district following Saturday night's bombings, and local tourism heads believe the explosions have drained at least Bt100 million in tourism revenues from the area.

Hat Yai Hotels Association president Somchart Pimthanapoonporn estimated that more than 7,000 tourists - mostly Malaysians - have cancelled return-trip holidays to Hat Yai.

Shortly after the blast, average hotel occupancy in the southern tourist city plunged from a normal level of about 80 per cent to a single-digit percentage, as frightened tourists packed up and left.

Somchart said the aftermath of the blasts would see the area lose at least Bt100 million in tourism revenues.

-- The Nation 2006-09-18

[banpaeng]

Well the terrorism is homegrown and most likely needs to be addressed there. Bet it don't happen.

[businessman]

I find it amazing that so many tourists go to Hat Yai.I spent many a dull day there on my way down to Malaysia and was always glad to get out of the place.Just like any other big Thai town,hot and dusty with not a lot to do.You do not get coach loads of tourists wandering around the centre of Udon,or do you?

[arjay]

I find it amazing that so many tourists go to Hat Yai

I think they are mostly Malaysian, popping over for a short break to do some shopping and some for other activities (TGL).

[beer monkey]

Canadian teacher killed in Thailand
Toronto man, 29, and three others die in bomb attacks in restive south


TORONTO AND BANGKOK -- A 29-year-old Canadian schoolteacher who died in a weekend bombing in southern Thailand was a footloose traveller from Toronto who had recently settled into a full-time home.

"He was really happy there and was finally getting into a groove," said Jessie Lee Daniel's aunt, Sue Jones. "He loved Thailand."

Mr. Daniel was one of four people who died in a series of bombings that ripped through a neighbourhood in Hat Yai, southern Thailand's biggest city, as extremists expanded their attacks beyond traditional targets.

Five bombs exploded simultaneously in tourist spots in the city's business district, Police Major-General Paitoom Pattanasophon told reporters yesterday, including two at department stores and one at a hotel. Three Thais also died and dozens more people were injured, including several other foreigners.
Mr. Daniel had been teaching at Phol Vidhya School in Hat Yai since arriving in Thailand last November. He was the first Western fatality in an insurgency that has gone on for three years.

Mr. Daniel was an accomplished photographer with a passion for dancing, said Ms. Jones, a resident of Trenton, Ont., with whom Mr. Daniel lived for several years after his mother died in 1995. "He was just like my soulmate," Ms. Jones said in an interview. "He was such a good kid, so genuine."

She said that her nephew's hero was Australian "crocodile hunter" Steve Irwin -- killed by a stingray earlier this month -- because Mr. Irwin embodied Mr. Daniel's gregarious, adventuresome spirit.

Mr. Daniel, formerly a factory worker in the Toronto area, discovered a love of teaching once he arrived in Thailand.

"The kids called him 'Teacher Beckham,' because he looked a little bit like [English soccer star] David Beckham," Ms. Jones said.

He had also lived briefly in Costa Rica and California in recent years. "He was especially excited about seeing elephants when he got to Thailand," his aunt said.

She said Mr. Daniel had a Thai girlfriend and had made many friends. When the explosions took place Saturday night, he was eating in a local restaurant with a friend who had just arrived from Toronto. Mr. Daniel was one of the first to reach the street after the first wave of bombs, Ms. Jones said. At that moment, another bomb exploded, killing him. His remains will be cremated and returned to Canada.

Since a January, 2004, raid on a government weapons depot, more than 1,400 civilians and soldiers have died in a bloody conflict between the Thai army and Muslim separatist insurgents in Thailand's three southernmost provinces, known as the Red Zone.

Thirty people were injured in explosions at Hat Yai's airport and a supermarket in April, 2005. The primary targets of all the attacks in the past three years have been have Thai Buddhist teachers and government workers.

More than 80 per cent of the people in the three provinces are Yawi-speaking Muslims, but 90 per cent of government officials are Thai-speaking Buddhists. This has created a linguistic barrier and cultural divide between the authorities and the residents that dates back to the signing of the Anglo-Siamese agreement in 1909, when Thailand annexed the three provinces.

In recent months, more than 100 Thai teachers fearing for their lives have applied for transfers to other provinces. In an effort to halt the exodus, the government is offering weapons training and discount prices on handguns for teachers.

"The school is very well known for English lessons. There are about 10 foreigners teaching there right now," said former Phol Vidhya student Noon Wandee, 23, who was instructing at a nearby computer shop Saturday night. "I was very scared. I didn't think this would happen again after the bombing last year."

The region has seen long periods of martial law and has attracted the attention of international human-rights groups
Globeandmail.com

[arjay]

From the Bangkok Post:

Blasts may cut retail sales by 30%

POST REPORTERS

Retail sales in Hat Yai are expected to nosedive over the next few months following the devastating bomb attacks on Saturday. Likit Fahpyochon, a former president of the Thai Retailers Association, said sales in the area could fall by 30% on average, due to the impact on tourism and consumer confidence.

''It could take about two months before the situation recovers, judging by what happened after last year's bombing at the Hat Yai airport,'' he said.

Four people were killed and at least 80 were wounded when six bombs exploded on Saturday in Hat Yai. The next day, arsonists attacked school buildings and destroyed several vehicles.

More than 1,700 people have died since early 2004 in the ongoing insurgency in the southern border provinces.

The Hat Yai attacks, which left a Canadian teacher among the dead, were sure to have a significant impact on tourism, according to Suthep Keusang, the director of the Songkhla office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Hat Yai, the centre of Songkhla and the largest city in southern Thailand, is a major attraction for Malaysian and Singaporean tourists.

[arjay]

And from the Nation:

BOMBING FALL-OUT
Entire economy at risk: BOT

Business leaders call urgent meeting to discuss impact; officials fear violence will spread to other tourist destinations

Saturday's bomb blasts in Hat Yai would have negative repercussions for the national economy as business people fear that the violence may no longer be contained within three provinces in the far South, the Bank of Thailand said yesterday.

The Bank of Thailand deputy governor Tarisa Watanagase said the blasts would have an adverse impact on the entire country, as Hat Yai was one of the country's main tourist and commercial hubs.

The blasts have already dealt a serious blow to tourism as more than 7,000 tourists have cancelled trips to Hat Yai after the blasts. The loss in tourism revenue has been estimated at Bt100 million.

The Chamber of Commerce will today call a meeting to discuss the impact of the blasts on the business sector.

While the violence has yet to affect stock market - the Stock Exchange of Thailand's index closed 0.75 per cent higher at 705.89 yesterday - the incident is likely to dampen business sentiment in the medium term.

Hundreds of foreigners fled the area following the bombs on Saturday night. Somchart Pimtha-napoonporn, president of the Hat Yai Hotels Association, estimated that more than 7,000 tourists, mostly Malaysians, had cut short holidays in Hat Yai, which had been a popular destination for Malaysians and Singaporeans.

Shortly after the blasts, the average hotel occupancy rate in the city plunged from its normal 80 per cent to single digit figures. The occupancy rate is usually 100 per cent on weekends.

"It will take about three months for the tourism industry to recover," Somchart said.

Nimitr Chaijiratheerahul, president of Songkhla Tourism Federa-tion, also feared the violence may begin to affect bigger tourist destinations in the South, such as Phuket, Koh Samui and Krabi.

"So far, most tourists are still planning to visit those areas as their trips were booked in ad-vance. Only a few are choosing to avoid the South," he said, adding that domestic travellers might switch to other provinces.

Anake Srichevachart, president of Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA), said that the coming high season could well be affected because of the violence.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) southern region, said two major events were due to be held in the coming peak season - Tak Bat Thewo - the merit making that marks the end of Buddhist Lent, and the Vegetarian Festival. But it was too soon to say how these events would be affected, Anake said.

A Central Retail Corporation (CRC) executive said the blasts in Songkhla would certainly affect revenue at its two stores - Central and Robinson - as well as the Big C Supercenter, which the company partially owns.

But CRC did not know yet how badly revenue would be hit and was still assessing the impact and ways to survive the crisis, said Allan Namchaisiri, the firm's senior vice president and head of marketing.

Although the incident would certainly affect tourist numbers in the province, Allan was optimistic business would continue to run smoothly as over half the revenue generated comes from local customers, while Malaysian shoppers contribute 20 to 30 per cent and the rest comes from other international tourists.