Mixed reports on the explosion at Samui’s Central Festival Plaza in Chaweng

As day broke the morning after an explosion rocked the parking lot at Samui’s Central Festival Plaza in Chaweng thoughts and reports as to what caused the incident are mixed and with no official statement so far on the exact cause of the explosion, speculation around the island and indeed the world is rife.

Some reports suggest that the car that blew up at around 10-30 last night was Honda Jazz that contained a faulty LPG gas system in the trunk that exploded. Others now suggest that the vehicle, that is now barely recognizable as a vehicle at all, was a Mazda pick-up truck that had been stolen from the Yala, a southern border province and had been driven onto the island by militants from the south of the island.

Lt Gen Prawut Thavornsiri, a spokesman for the National Police told the AFP that there had been a car bomb, but there was no confirmation of the type of explosive materials used, he also declined to say whether the incident could be lined to unrest in the south.

While there have been posts on social network groups suggesting there have been fatalities, none have been confirmed and as we reported last night, so far only six with minor injuries have been confirmed.

The blast occurred at around the same time that a fire broke out at the Sahakorn Coop in Surant Thani, fueling speculation that the blast was caused by insurgents from the Muslim majority southern provinces designed to cause chaos on the first day of the five day Songkran holiday as thousands of tourists arrive to celebrate Thai New Year.

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