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REPEAT: Report Confirms Bomb Blew Up Thai Premier`s Plane BANGKOK (AP)--A preliminary investigation has confirmed that a bomb caused the explosion of an airplane that Thailand`s prime minister was about to board, the defense minister said Thursday. Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, the deputy prime minister and defense minister, gave a copy of the investigation report to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Thursday. The investigation, however, has not concluded whether Thaksin was the target in the March 3 bombing of the Thai Airways International PCL (H.TAI) Boeing 737 at Bangkok`s domestic airport. "This report does not mark the end of investigation. The culprit will have to be arrested and punished but we have not set a timeframe for that. Let the authorities do their job," Chavalit told reporters. The parked plane blew up 35 minutes before its scheduled departure when crew members were preparing it for a flight to the northern city of Chiang Mai. A flight attendant was killed and seven airline staff were injured. "The contents of the report are confined to the area of investigators` conclusion that the explosion was caused by a planted bomb. It was sabotage," Chavalit said. The report also gives an outline of the further investigations needed to find out the identity of the bomber and the mastermind, said Chavalit, who heads a committee coordinating the various simultaneous investigations. Officials have put forward various theories for the motive - business rivalry between contractors at the airport, disgruntled employees, spillover of a drug war and an attempt on Thaksin`s life, which now appears least likely. Chavalit said the common view of the police, military and airline investigators is that the bomb consisted of C-4 plastic explosive, which caused the first blast followed by the explosion of the fuel tank. Police Lt. Gen. Sant Sarutanond, the chief police investigator into the bombing, said police have narrowed down the list of bombing suspects to three groups of people who had access to the plane. They are Thai Airways staff, employees of the Airports Authority of Thailand and passengers who flew on the plane from Pitsnulok to Bangkok, the last journey the plane performed before its explosion, he said. Sant said a piece of wire found in the fuselage of the plane could have been part of a mechanism that detonated the bomb. "Scientific test of the found wire was underway. If it is proved that the wire does not belong to the aircraft, then we will know what detonated the explosives," Sant said. (END) Dow Jones Newswires 15-03-01 |
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| aus der Diskussion: | Waste or make money in Thailand |
| Autor (Datum des Eintrages): | BodyG (15.03.01 09:48:53) |
| Beitrag: | 534 von 611 (ID:3104945) |
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