At least 60 wounded in Thailand car bomb

A pick up truck exploded at the entrance of a supermarket in the city of Pattani, Thailand wounding 60 people on Tuesday, May 9th.

The separatist insurgency in the largely ethnic Malay Muslim provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat has killed more than 6,500 people since 2004, according to independent monitoring group,  Deep South Watch.

Pattani Provincial Hospital said in a statement that 60 people were injured by the blast. There is no fatality so far. The hospital also appealed for blood donations of all types for the victims.

Most of the wounded were discharged after receiving treatment but 21 with more serious injuries were hospitalized, Arun Prasertsuk, deputy director of Pattani Hospital told a local television channel.

The blast destroyed the front of a Big-C supermarket, scattering debris over a wide area and sending up a column of black smoke.

Muslim insurgents were suspected of carrying out the attack, deputy police chief Rewat Srichantub said. He said the bomber was believed to have fled before the explosion. It was the first car bomb in Pattani since August.

Defense ministry spokesman Kongcheep Tantrawanit said the government condemned the bomb attack and considered it a grave violation of human right.

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