Hatyai,Thailand For Sawadee Newbies

[BlueDragon193]

More news....

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/nati...-30179148.html

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/loca...-fire-sabotage

[quorq]

Car bomb caused deadly Thai hotel blast

Bangkok, April 1, 2012 (AFP) - A deadly fire at a hotel in southern Thailand was caused by a car bomb planted by suspected insurgents, the national police chief said in remarks televised on Sunday.

The fire killed three people, including a Malaysian tourist, and injured hundreds of others, according to a revised toll given by the provincial governor.

It came on the same day as deadly bomb blasts killed 10 people elsewhere in the region.

"Yes it was a car bomb and it's related to the incident (bombs) in Yala and I believe that it was the work of the same group. The vehicle used was a Honda," national police chief General Priewpan Damapong said.

The fire Saturday at the Lee Gardens Hotel in Hat Yai, the largest city in southern Thailand, was initially thought to have been caused by a gas explosion in the basement.

The death toll was revised downwards after two people believed to be dead were resuscitated, Songkhla provincial governor Grisada Boorach said.

A total of 416 people were injured, mostly suffering from smoke inhalation, and 140 were still in hospital, he said.
The hotel attack came as two bombs in the southern town of Yala killed 10 people and wounded 117.

Colonel Pramote Promin, spokesman for the southern army region, said 29 people were still in hospital.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated 1 April 2012 :-

Car bomb suspected in Hat Yai hotel

At least four people were killed and about 300 injured in an explosion and fire at a Hat Yai hotel yesterday - suspected to have been caused by a bomb in a car parked in the basement.

Surin Veerasuk, a senior mechanic from Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Regional Centre 12, made that assessment after leading his team to inspect the explosion scene at the Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel. He said the car's licence plate number was unknown.

Songkhla Governor Krissada Boonraj did not confirm if the explosion was caused by a car bomb, as no bomb parts were found even though many cars parked inside the basement were seriously damaged. He said he would wait for Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) specialists to inspect the scene and decide what caused the blast.

The death toll at press time yesterday, the governor confirmed that two men and a woman had been killed but he did not name the victims or give any further information.

There were reports that one of the men killed was burnt to death in the hotel basement. Some of the victims were suspected to have died of smoke inhalation. Meanwhile, the injured were taken to five hospitals nearby. Eightyseven of them were rushed to Hat Yai Hospital, 132 to Songklanagarind Hospital, 52 to Rajyindee Hospital, 29 to Bangkok Hospital Hat Yai and 26 to Sikarin Hat Yai Hospital.

Hat Yai Hospital director Dr Kuldej Techanaparukse said most of the patients sent to the hospital suffered from smoke inhalation and were wounded as they fell while they ran to survive. Around 27 of 87 patients had not been discharged.

At around 1pm, the bomb exploded at the building, which is the hotel and a shopping complex.

Initial reports said that the big fire engulfed after a gas explosion at a fast food restaurant inside the building, and later authorities suspected if it was caused by the car bomb.

It took four hours to extinguish the fire.

Hat Yai Municipality Mayor Prai Pattano said he suspected the fire was caused by a car bomb. He said tourists and locals in the building were already evacuated to safe places, but the area was sealed for safety pending engineer inspection as the building might be cracked from bomb impact.

A press conference due to be held at 5pm yesterday to reveal details of the Songkran festivities in Songkhla was cancelled.
----- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[tarzan69]

Any brothers at hat Yai? How's the situation there? I got a trip tomorrow,
Pls advise. Thanks for helping

[KatoeyLover69]

Originally Posted by tarzan69

Any brothers at hat Yai? How's the situation there? I got a trip tomorrow,
Pls advise. Thanks for helping

Book a gal from the farm and stay in your hotel room 24/7 ..... stay away from niteclubs and crowded places .... Happy cheonging !

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated 1 April 2012 :-

B1bln damage likely by Hat Yai blast

The car bomb that rocked Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel in Songkhla's Hat Yai district on Saturday would likely cause at least 1,000 baht damage to the tourism sector, Somchart Pimthanapoonporn said on Sunday.

Five people were killed and more than 300 wounded in the blast.

Mr Somchart, chairman of the Songkhla Tourism Business Council and also president of the Hat Yai-Songkhla Hoteliers Association, said following yesterday's incident about 60 per cent of the hotel rooms which had been fully booked were cancelled.

He was optimistic that it would take fewer than three months to restore the tourism climate to normal.

The damage expected to be made to the tourism-related business was likely to be in the tune of 1,000 million baht, he added.

Mr Somchart said despite the incident, the Songkran festivals in Hat Yai would be organised as usual and activities to promote the celebrations would continue to restore tourists' confidence.

Prapas Intanaprasat, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)'s Hat Yai branch, said two tents had been set up to provide assistance to tourists who were affected by yesterday's blast.

Most of the tourists staying at the Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel continued to remain in Hat Yai, but moved to other hotels.

A press conference would be held on April 5 to confirm that the Songkran festivals would be held in Hat Yai as usual, he said.
----- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[philipsho]

Just got back... Things are getting back to normal... But lee garden still cornered off... With police and military personnel everywhere... I stayed in mayflower... Can feel the blast when it happen... But mayflower is not affected... If not I won't be chatting here liao...

Cause of the blast is still unknown... Some say bomb... Some say gas

[bell152]

This is sad. I hope hatyai people is ok and hatyai
will recover soon


cheers,

[Wai1983]

Wow.. This is really a shocking news. I'm heading to Hatyai coming weekend.. So scary..

But it's not gonna stop me going there!! Will try to update every bro on the situation there... Provided if i am still alive.

[hawk88]

Bro Wai1983, just be careful, dun take it lightly, u will never know. Read back the history. places like disco, crowded places, etc, avoid. Hotel like regency, mayflower, new season, avoid. Duno why novetel so far so good. Always bo tai chi 1. Just my 2 baht.

Once u touch down, mayb u can consider Danok (tho it is slightly more exp but still affordable if u dun go to those hang flower scene) instead of HY if u hvn book ur hotel.

[quorq]

More Hat Yai bombings feared
Published: 1/04/2012 at 09:56 PM

Security authorities in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district have placed the city on high alert as they search frantically for four vehicles suspected of being rigged for fresh attacks after a car bomb that caused a fire in the city centre a day earlier and left five people killed and hundreds injured.

Meanwhile, Police say they have identified the gang they believe planted the bombs in Yala and Hat Yai on Saturday which killed 14 people in total.

Hat Yai Police Station’s radio centre on Sunday notified all security units to launch a thorough search of the city for the four vehicles including two Isuzu pickup trucks – one coloured blue and the other bronze metallic - a white Toyota Hilux Tiger pickup and a black Honda Civic sedan media reports said. All have been stolen.

It's believed the vehicles were used as getaway cars after the bombings and police sources said it was likely they would be rigged to stage more attacks in downtown Hat Yai following Saturday’s car bombing at Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel and shopping mall.

Police have identified the owner of the car used in the attack at the five-star hotel as Thanasorn Kuasook, ex-deputy chief of Choeng Khiri tambon administration organisation in Narathiwat's Sri Sakhon district. He was killed by suspected militants in his hometown in October last year and his car was stolen, according to authorities.

Explosives ordnance disposal and forensic police have collected partial evidence from Thanasorn’s car which was parked in the underground parking floor, level B2, of the 33-storey Lee Gardens. Officials’ can proceed only investigate three of the five underground floors because the air in the area is still filled with gas and has little light.

[Lone_Wolf]

Originally Posted by hawk88

Bro Wai1983, just be careful, dun take it lightly, u will never know. Read back the history. places like disco, crowded places, etc, avoid. Hotel like regency, mayflower, new season, avoid. Duno why novetel so far so good. Always bo tai chi 1. Just my 2 baht.

Once u touch down, mayb u can consider Danok (tho it is slightly more exp but still affordable if u dun go to those hang flower scene) instead of HY if u hvn book ur hotel.

Dun forget Sadao ever kenna bombed before...... but is still safer than Hatyai for the moment.

[hawk88]

Originally Posted by Lone_Wolf

Dun forget Sadao ever kenna bombed before...... but is still safer than Hatyai for the moment.

Definitely, impact also not as jia luck as in HY, mayb cos of ..................... in Danok.

[asakura21]

hmm is it still safe to go to hatyai ? am suppose to go over there this weekend

[hawk88]

Sharing:

Care to share when u call a massage gal for 'THAI TRADITIONAL MASSAGE' for 2 hours in HY : NOTE; no special, purely massage.

i) U went to a massage parlour, hotel outlet, etc,
a) how much u pay for the massage?
b) Tips?

ii) U went to buy massage voucher and went to (i).
a) Tips?

iii) Massage Gal came to ur hotel room
a) how much u pay for the massage?
b) Tips?