PATTANI: One policeman was killed and four injured when a bomb exploded in front of a hospital in Mai Kaen district on Tuesday night.
Pol Col Torlap Lengha, the Mai Kaen police chief, said a special operations patrol was passing in front of Mai Kaen Hospital when an improvised bomb hidden in a trash can on the roadside was remotely detonated about 7.40pm.
The explosion caused the patrol car to crash into a power pole. The four policemen inside were slightly injured. They were Pol Lt Sathien Chuaprasart, Pol Sgt-Maj Wichai Kaewla-iad, Pol Sgt Ariz Trapai and Pol Sgt Ahmad Hayitayae.
A policeman accompanying them on a motorcycle was hit by bomb shrapnel and killed and his motorcycle went up in flames. He was Pol Sgt-Maj Bari Baka.
All were admitted to Mai Kaen Hospital, he said.
Medical services at the hospital were unaffected. The explosion caused some damage to buildings at Mai Kaen Kittiwit secondary school, which has about 500 students and is opposite the hospital. It was closed for the day as a safety precaution.