Report on Thai plane blast to be released

Report on Thai plane blast to be released

BANGKOK (AFP): An official report into the blast that destroyed a Thai Airways jet has found that a bomb was deliberately planted on board, but fails to identify who was behind the attack, a source said on Wednesday.

The report is due to be presented on Thursday to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was minutes away from boarding the plane at Bangkok's domestic airport on March 3 before it burst into flames.

Thaksin initially insisted investigators find out who was responsible for the explosion by Thursday's deadline, but withdrew the demand later after coming under criticism for pressuring the probe team.

A source on the investigation panel said the report confirmed that the presence of chemicals used in C-4 plastic explosive, found in the wreckage and on the body of the steward killed in the blast, proved it was no accident.

"As to who was involved in the explosion, we will have to wait for further investigation," he told AFP.

Thaksin indicated on Wednesday that he would accept the findings, saying that the team should not rush the hunt for those responsible for the near-disaster.

"The investigation is in progress ... and will not hurry to find the bomber," he said.

The investigation panel source said the bomb was believed to have been attached to the seats numbered 38 to 40, located above the plane's fuel tank.

"This style of bombing was used in Columbia where drugs dealers were responsible for one attack that produced tearing in the fuel tank similar to this explosion," he said.

Currently under suspicion are two groups of people, including passengers who boarded the plane in Phitsanulok, in central Thailand, where it stopped off before heading into Bangkok. This group has yet to be interrogated.

"The second are the aircraft cleaners -- six of the nine are Thai Airways staff and the other three came from a subcontracted cleaning company," the source said, adding that all the flight attendants had been cleared.

A range of motives behind the bombing continue to be considered, including that it was the work of drug traffickers operating on the Thai-Myanmar border who targeted Thaksin over his vow to close down their trade.

"Another reason is possible conflicts inside Thai Airways and the Airports Authority," the source said, adding that the ongoing saga over the building of Bangkok's planned new international airport may also be to blame.

The probe team was convinced the device was not operated by a timer, and that it was planted by a former army officer or some other bomb expert, he said.