Morning blast rips through police booth
Busy Phuket tourist belt deserted after police blocks off areas for investigations
After she was rudely awakened by an explosion, Ms Amm Nathradee Kanjanayotee looked out the window of her Phuket home to find the next-door police booth damaged.
The 24-year-old Thai national went downstairs and was shocked to see the damaged booth with smoke trailing skywards.
"There were many taxi drivers and motorcyclists stopping by to take photographs of the site," she told The New Paper (TNP) in Thai.
A Thai motorcyclist was slightly injured in yesterday's 8.45am blast, Reuters reported. There were no other casualties.
The road was quiet that day, said Ms Amm, the owner of K.R. World Sports Centre department store. It doubles as her home along Thaweewong Road in Phuket's Patong district.
The usually busy tourist spot became a ghost town yesterday morning as police cordoned off parts of it for investigations into the bombings.
Ms Amm said her department store was initially closed, but it later opened for business at 2pm.
"I was worried for my employees. We wouldn't open if it weren't safe (for them)," said Ms Amm.
But other shops were not so daring.
About half the shops along the road were still closed at 4pm when TNP contacted Ms Amm.
She also noticed that there was significantly fewer customers in her store that day.
"Business is slow today, but I think it will return to normal after this period, once this whole incident is over," she said.
There were many taxi drivers and motorcyclists stopping by to take photographs of the site.
- Ms Amm Nathradee Kanjanayotee, who lives and owns a store next to the police booth (below), the site of the bombing in Phuket's Patong district
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