Thai police said an improvised explosive device had been thrown into a crowd on a dance floor at a crowded festival in Umphang district in Thailand’s northern Tak province just before midnight on December 13.
The explosion killed two people instantly, with another dying later in hospital and 48 left injured among the approximately 8,000-9,000 attending the event.
Police said a Thai youth and a man belonging to the Karen National Union (KNU), a rebel group fighting for autonomy in neighbouring Myanmar’s Karen state, had been arrested.
Tak police chief Major-General Samrit Ekamol said the Myanmar suspect had thrown the bomb after encountering a “rival gangster” he had previously fought with.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra expressed her condolences to the victims’ families and urged security agencies to carry out an investigation.
Thailand's National Police Chief General Kitrat Panpetch also expressed his sympathies, directing investigators to expedite efforts to apprehend those responsible and coordinate closely with military units.
Heightened security measures have been applied at public events nationwide.
According to Thai authorities, a bomb explosion at an annual festival in Tak province shortly before midnight on December 13 claimed three lives and left 39 others injured./.
