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THAI Plane Blast Sabotage not an Accident: Defense Minister
The explosion of Thai Airways International (THAI) was caused by a bomb and not by any malfunction of the aircraft, Defense Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh was quoted as saying by the Thai News Agency on Tuesday.
Aircraft manufacturer Boeing also denied press reports that its representatives had initially linked the cause of explosion to malfunction of the air-conditioning system.
Chavalit, also deputy prime minister, who heads a government special panel on the explosion case, said Monday night that the police investigation panel found new evidences in the plane wrecks, indicating that there were two swift blasts.
One was triggered by a C-4 bomb that was planted in the VIP cabin while the other was triggered by a leak in an oil tank beneath the VIP section. The two blasts took place almost simultaneously.
Chavalit said current findings by all investigation teams had confirmed the explosion was an act of sabotage.
The investigation is focusing on airport personnel aboard the aircraft 30 minutes before the explosion, he said.
The Boeing 747-400 aircraft exploded on March 3 at Bangkok's domestic airport, shortly before Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and 148 other passengers were about to board.
Meanwhile, Sant Sarutanon, deputy national police chief in charge of the investigation, confirmed the sabotage theory, the Bangkok Post reported.
He was quoted as saying that scientific crime detection police, military and police ordnance divisions as well as an expert from the U.S. embassy had used bomb detectors and all had come up with a common finding: the presence of RDX, a main component of plastic
explosive C-4 bomb.
Traces of the substance were found all over the passenger cabin as well as on the clothing of the dead and injured flight attendants, he said.
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