YALA: A rubber tapper was seriously wounded by a bomb explosion while working in Muang district in the early hours of Thursday - the fifth victim of a bomb in a rubber plantation in eight days in this southern province.
Jarin Chanluek, 47, was working at a plantation in tambon Yupho when he stepped on the mine, said Pol Capt Pattana Kaenkaew, investigation chief at Muang police station. It was reported to police about 3am.
The tapper sustained injuries to his face, eyes, his right arm and his right leg and right foot. He was rushed to Yala Regional Hospital. He was seriously injured, but remained conscious.
A team of police, soldiers and bomb disposal officers inspected the scene. Pieces of metal, wires, and bomb materials were found scattered over the area.
The blast left a crater beside a rubber tree, where the home-made bomb was planted.
According to police investigators, Mr Jarin went into the plantation around 1.45am to tap latex as usual. He noticed there was freshly overturned soil near one of the rubber trees.
Suspicious, he used his hands to see what was in under there. The bomb, weighing about 1kg, exploded.
Authorities blamed separatist insurgents, saying they were trying to instill fear in people working at rubber plantations.
Mr Jarin is the fifth victim of a bomb buried in a rubber plantation in Yala province since June 28. The other victims a woman and three men.
Pol Maj Gen Kritsada Kaewjandee, chief of Yala police, told local residents to alert police if they spotted something suspicious at their plantations. He also warned them to stay clear of it and wait for police to arrive.
He said investigators do have a good idea who is responsible for the attacks. Some of them were already the subject of arrest warrants.
The investigation was continuing.
Above and below: Soldiers, bomb disposal officers and police inspect the scene of a bomb blast at a rubber plantation in Yala's Muang district early Thursday. (Photos by Maluding Deeto)
(Photo by Maluding Deeto)