PATTANI - A deadly blast scared off anglers but could not shake the determination of the organisers to carry on with a traditional fishing event in their small town.
Police check the area on Friday night after a bomb blast at a fishing competition in Sai Buri district of Pattani. (Photo by Abdulloh Benjakat)
Ten teams withdrew from the competition on Saturday after the explosion on Friday night on Wasukree beach in Sai Buri district of the southern province. Forty teams remain in fight to crown the best anglers this year.
Three police officers were killed and 20 people including eight other police were injured by the blast, which authorities believe was the work of insurgents.
"They were in low morale after what happened," Arme Ardare, the Tambon Taluban chief said on Saturday, referring to the contestants who left for home.
Mr Arme admitted the confidence of the local government was shaken but said the municipality decided to continue the event to keep up the tradition.
The event, which has been held annually for 27 years, helped inject money into the community and promote the beach, he added.
The competition ends on Sunday and some activities were cancelled on Saturday, including the seafood cooking competition and horse race.
"I felt sorry. The bomb dampened peace and the confidence and the image of Sai Buri district," he added.
In addition to causing deaths and injuries, the bomb, hidden under a bench, also damaged three cars and one motorcycle.
Sai Buri police and bomb disposal experts said the bomb was packed in a cooking gas cylinder found at the scene and triggered by a remote control.
The area was sealed for authorities to collect evidence. A radio circuit and batteries were found.
Mr Arme did not blame authorities for the blast, saying police and soldiers had already cleared the ground used to hold the event two days before it started.
"They were not careless," he said, adding that the attackers had placed the bomb at the entrance of the fair site.
"It was very unfortunate that the police officers were sitting there when the bomb went off."
Security officials are on high alert throughout the South because Monday is the 10th anniversary of the Krue Se massacre, the event that triggered the revival of the southern insurgency after years of relative calm in the region.
On April 28, 2004, soldiers killed 32 suspected insurgents holed up in the Krue Se mosque in Pattani's Muang district, defying a Defence Ministry order to try to end the confrontation peacefully.