Police arrested two suspects after a bomb exploded during a festival near the Myanmar border in Thailand’s Umphang district, Tak province, late Friday night, killing three people and injuring dozens among the 8,000 to 9,000 attendees, according to police.
The explosion struck a dance floor, killing two people instantly, while a third died later at the hospital from their injuries.
The suspects include a young Thai man and an individual believed to be a member of the Karen National Union (KNU), an ethnic minority group fighting the Myanmar military for greater autonomy.
Police stated that the Myanmar suspect allegedly threw the bomb after a confrontation with a “rival criminal.”
A senior KNU official, however, denied any involvement of the group in the area, though the KNU, which has over 5,000 fighters, maintains significant commercial interests along both sides of the border.
Authorities continue to investigate the exact motives behind the deadly attack.