A villager was killed when he unwittingly detonated an explosive device, as he was fishing in a rice field in the Sai Buri district of Thailand’s southern province of Pattani today (Friday).

3 members of a bomb disposal squad were also injured as they searched for more devices, about 50 metres from the site of the first explosion. All the injured were rushed to hospital in Sai Buri district.

According to the police, the villager found a paper bag placed at the foot of a tree and, out of curiosity, picked it up to look inside. The explosive device detonated, killing instantly.

Police said that the second device was intended to target the bomb disposal team, as the insurgents had anticipated that the officials would search for more devices in the vicinity of the first explosion.

Insurgents have been fighting Thai government forces in the three Muslim-majority southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat and in some districts of Songkhla, where they have been seeking self-rule for decades. Several thousand civilians, insurgents and government officials have been killed in the prolonged conflict.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service