Bomb suspected in Ramkhamhaeng blast (updated)

Police are saying this morning that a conflict among street vendors, not the situation in the country's deep South, is the most likely motive for the bombing on Ramkhamhaeng Soi 43/1 which injured seven people last night.

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The pavement at the entrance of Ramkhamhaeng Soi 43/1 is littered with debris and goods from stalls in the area after a Sunday night explosion that wounded at least seven people. (Photos by Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)

Tuesday morning update

There have been no arrests in the Ramkhamhaeng bombing case and no suspects have been identified. City police chief Khamronwit Thoopkrachang said the blast could have been triggered by a business dispute or could have been an attempt to incite chaos. Vendors interviewed by Thai PBS cast doubts on the business conflict theory, saying all had valid contracts with the city.

trigger – to cause ก่อให้เกิด กระตุ้น
dispute – a serious disagreement  ข้อโต้แย้ง
incite – to encourage people to be violent or commit crimes by making them angry or excited ยั่วยุ ยุยงให้เกิดความรุนแรง
chaos – a situation in which everything is confused and in a mess การจราจล
theory – one or more ideas that explain how or why something happens สมมติฐาน
valid – legally accepted ชอบด้วยกฎหมาย

Monday morning update

Police are saying this morning that a conflict among street vendors, not the situation in the country's deep South, is the most likely motive for the bombing. The device was relatively small, probably no more than one kilogram, and it had a destructive radius of only about five metres. Apart from the surveillance video (see below) already obtained, they are checking other cameras in the area for more evidence.

Click button to listen to Ramkhamhaeng blast and rightclick to download

Bomb suspected in Ramkhamhaeng blast

Online reporters

Police are investigating an apparent bomb explosion at Ramkhamhaeng Soi 43/1 on Sunday night that left seven people injured.

Pol Col Narongrit Promsawat, chief of Hua Mark police station said forensic police were inspecting the scene. He denied earlier media reports that a man had been arrested in connection with the suspected bombing.

Metropolitan Police Bureau chief Kamronwit Thoopkrachang said early Monday the explosion was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) and it was "not intended to kill". Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit said he believed the bomber did not want to cause casualties.

However, the device was packed with nails and flash powder, put in a plastic bag and hidden in a pile of rubbish bags before it went off.

Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit ordered officers to check potential conflicts of people living in the neighbourhood where the bomb went off, and to examine security cameras in the area to find the suspect.

Late on Sunday night, unconfirmed reports said police detained a "non-Thai citizen of Asian descent" who was taking photos of the blast and looked suspicious.

The injured, five women and two men, were taken to Ramkhamhaeng and Vejthani Hospitals.

Three of them were treated for minor injuries and released to go home.

A clothes vendor who was about 10 metres from the centre of the blast said he heard a loud explosion and when he ran to the spot he found several injured people, most of them bleeding from their faces.

The blast went off at a rubbish bin that was between a beauty salon and the Bangkok Bank, he said.

Surveillance video of the moment of the bombing taken from near Bangkok Bank

Experts from the Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit said they found many nails at the scene, increasing speculation that a home-made bomb might have been the source of the explosion.

Pol Lt Sanoe Pongsuth, an investigator at Hua Mark police station, said the explosion took place about 8.30 pm.

"It was certainly a bombing because nails are scattered around the explosion site," he said.

Several reports speculated that the blast might be connected to violence in the deep South. However, nail-packed bombs touched off by mobile phone signals are common throughout the world. Sunday night's bomb was almost identical to six bombs that detonated in Bangkok in a deadly New Year's Eve bombing wave in 2006. No one ever has been found responsible for that evening of terror.

Sunday night's explosion occurred at the mouth of the Ramkhamhaeng Soi 43/1. It damaged two stores and a dozen street vendors’ stalls on the side of the busy Ramkhamhaeng road.

pavement – a path with a hard surface beside a road. The American word is sidewalk ทางเดิน, ฟุตบาท
littered – having much of something spread around a place กระจุยกระจาย
debris – broken pieces that are left when something large has been destroyed  เศษ ซากปรักหักพัง  ซากสิ่งของที่ถูกทำลาย
goods – things that are produced to be sold; possessions that can be moved สินค้า, สิ่งของ
stall – a large table or a small building that is open at the front, used for selling things (or for giving people information) รถ หรือแผงขายของ
wounded – injured, especially where your skin or flesh is damaged, usually seriously บาดเจ็บ
conflict – an angry disagreement between people or groups ความขัดแย้ง
vendor – someone who sells something, but not in a shop พ่อค้าแม่ค้าแผงลอย
motive – a reason for doing something  แรงจูงใจ
device – a machine or piece of equipment that does a particular job อุปกรณ์ เครื่องมือ เครื่องจักร
relatively – somewhat; in comparison with someone or something similar  ค่อนข้าง
destructive – causing great damage or harm ซึ่งเป็นการทำลาย
radius – a particular distance in all directions from a central point รัศมี
surveillance video – video from a camera that is put in a place to constantly record what happens there – เทปวิดีโอจากกล้องวงจรปิดเพื่อรักษาการความปลอดภัย
obtain – to get something that you want or need, especially by going through a process that is difficult ได้มา, ได้รับ
evidence – facts statements or objects that help to prove whether or not someone has committed a crime หลักฐาน
suspected – thought to be something เป็นที่สงสัย
blast – an explosion การระเบิด
investigate – to try to find out the facts about something in order to learn the truth about it ตรวจสอบหาความจริง
apparent – seeming to be something although it may not be real ดูเหมือนว่า, ตามที่เห็นภายนอก
injured – hurt in an accident or attack ซึ่งได้รับบาดเจ็บ
forensic – relating to the use of scientific methods to solve  crimes or to find out why something happened เกี่ยวกับนิติวิทยาศาสตร์
inspect – to look at something carefully ตรวจสอบ, ตรวจสอบอย่างละเอียด
scene – site; a place where something happens or happened สถานที่เกิดเหตุ
deny – to say that something is not true ปฏิเสธ
media – radio, television, newspaper, the Internet, considered as a group สื่อ
arrested – caught by the police and taken to a police station because you are believed to have committed a crime ถูกจับกุม
metropolitan police – the police in responsible for a city ตำรวจนครบาล
improvised – invented or made using whatever is available, usually because you do not have what you really need; made at the time when it is needed without already having planned it กระทำหรือประพันธ์อย่างไม่ได้มีการตระเตรียมมาก่อน หรืออย่างทันทีทันควัน
intend – to plan to do; to want to happen ตั้งใจให้เกิดขึ้น, วางแผนไว้
casualties – deaths and/or injuries ผู้บาดเจ็บล้มตาย
nail – a small thin pointed piece of metal with a flat head, used for hanging things on a wall or for joining pieces of wood together ตะปู
rubbish – waste material or things that are no longer wanted or needed ขยะ
potential – possible ที่อาจเป็นไปได้
neighbourhood – a particular area of a city or town ละแวก, ย่าน
suspect – a person who is thought to have committed a crime ผู้ต้องสงสัย
unconfirmed –  that has not yet been proved to be true or confirmed
detain – to keep someone in a police station or prison and not allow them to leave กักตัว ควบคุมตัวหรือฝากขัง
descent – being related to a particular person or group of people who lived in the past การสืบเชื้อสาย
suspicious – making you believe that something is wrong, dangerous or illegal น่าสงสัย
minor – not important; small; having little influence or effect เล็กน้อย
release – to let someone leave a place where they have been kept, in this case, a hospital ปล่อยตัว
bleeding – losing blood, especially from a wound or an injury เลือดออก
expert – someone who has a particular skill or who knows a lot about a particular subject ผู้เชี่ยวชาญ
ordnance – weapons, ammunition, etc., especially military สรรพาวุธ, อาวุธยุทโธปกรณ์
disposal – getting rid of bombs or making bombs harmless การเก็บกู้ระเบิด
speculation – ideas or discussion about what might happen or has happened or why something has happened without having complete information การคาดการณ์
source – the cause of something ต้นกำเนิด
scattered – spread over a large area กระจัดกระจาย
site – a place where something happened  ที่เกิดเหตุ
violence – physical force with the deliberate intention of causing damage to property or injury or death to people ความรุนแรง, การใช้กำลังทำลาย
touch off – to cause something to start, especially something bad ก่อให้เกิด
identical – exactly the same, or very similar เหมือนกัน, แบบเดียวกัน
detonate – to cause to explode ทำให้ระเบิด
responsible – deserving to be blamed for something that has happened มีความรับผิดชอบ
terror – violence used for making people very frightened in order to achieve political aims การก่อการร้าย  การสร้างความหวาดกลัว