EXPLOSIONS at a camp of workers building the world’s largest Guanyin statue in Songkhla early this morning which injured three of them and terrified the local people has led to temporary halt of the construction with all 90 workers evacuated, Naewna newspaper said this evening (Nov. 20).
After the two bombs planted within the workers’ camp exploded at 7 a.m. another two went off later off at the entrance of the route to this site – about 400 metres away – but fortunately no officers got injured.
The zone where the bombs went off has been cordoned off as a bomb disposal team moved in to clear the area and collect evidence.
While an investigation team from Thepha police station, Songkhla provincial police and front line police have checked the surveillance camera video clips they have not yet been able to identify the perpetrators nor as yet ascertain the type of bombs used.
Of the workers who were evacuated, 50 were from Myanmar and 40 Thais with the foreman being a local resident.
A group of primary and secondary school students from the Demonstration School of Yala Rajabhat University who came for a two-day scout camp near the site of the blasts were shocked by the bombing and were moved away in school buses and military vehicles.
Local people too were shocked by the four consecutive bombings as this is the first time this has occurred in this area. Importantly, pieces of metal from the construction camp flew more than 500 metres and hit poles near villagers’ houses but fortunately no one got injured.
Sgt. Maj. Wirach Yanaider, deputy head of Volunteer Defence Corps base at Koh Saba, said the first two bombs went off at 7. a.m. within the workers’ camp. Security team checked the area from Highway 43, the main road leading to the camp, but did not find any more bombs nor any suspicious persons.
Then at around 10.30 a.m. a third bomb went off about 300 metres from the checkpoint followed by a fourth one five minutes later. The two officers there suffered ringing in the ear while there were only three workers left at the camp.
This project to build the world’s largest Guanyin statue had sparked a protest in 2022 when Imams from every mosque in Songkhla accompanied by 4,000 local people gathered to pray that it be stopped. The reason they gave was that the site was part of the Chana industrial estate project and the large amount of capital involved with this not about faith.
In Chinese Buddhism, Guanyin is the bodhisattva of infinite compassion and mercy.
CAPTION:
Scenes of today’s bomb blasts in Songkhla. Photos: Naewna
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