Probe into effectiveness of bomb suits and bomb disposal robots
A Senate committee tasked with monitoring the insurgency problem in the far South has decided to look into the controversy regarding the effectiveness of bomb suits and bomb disposal robots used by bomb demolition squad in the violence-prone region.
The probe followed a fatal bomb blast on New Year’s day in Su-ngai Padi district of Narathiwat which killed two members of the bomb demolition squad.
Wearing bomb suits, the two bomb experts, Pol Sergeant Major Kitti Mingsuk and Pol Sergeant Major Krissada Thong-o, approached an object suspected to be an improvised explosive device (IED) left on the roadside in an attempt to defuse it. suspected to be an improvised explosive device in an attempt to defuse it after a bomb disposal robot they deployed failed to function.
As they were a few metres from the suspicious object, the bomb who was believed to be hiding somewhere not far away from the scene detonated it with a mobile phone. The blast instantly killed Kitti at the scene while his colleague, Krissada died afterward after he was rushed to the hospital.
MrAnusart Suwanmongkol, a senator representing Pattani and a member of the panel, said that the panel would ask for relevant information from the police and might invite authorities concerned to testify.
He said that there had been reports before about malfunctioning bomb disposal robots which were locally produced. Stressing the need to determine where the faults actually lie – whether it was the ineffectiveness of the bomb suits or human error or both – he said the fatal incident would serve a worthy lesson that such a tragedy must not be repeated.
There are currently ten bomb suits being deployed for use in the far South since 2004. Made in Canada, each suit costs two million baht and they are effective for use for five years.
Meanwhile, a bomb expert who spoke on condition that he would not be identified said that the bomb suit would be effective against impact from bomb explosion not exceeding 1.5 pound per square inch and that the wearer of the suit must be more than two metres from the explosion spot. He said that the suit would not be capable of protecting the bomb expert against high explosives such as C-4.
The expert noted that in the Su-ngai Padi incident, the two bomb experts were too close to the bomb.
As a precaution, he said that the bomb demolition officials must not approach too close to a bomb or a suspicious objector. Once it was found, the first thing to be done is to fend off the area and move people out to a safe distance, then a high-powered water cannon is used to destroy the bomb or the suspicious object, he said.
Most of the bombs or IEDs employed by the southern militants were not detonated with timers but with mobile phones, remote control devices or radio transmission, he said.
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Caption : Bomb attack on New Year’s day in Su-ngai Padi district of Narathiwat