Police have launched an investigation into an explosion at a bird’s-nest concession area in Phang-nga province, in which one man was killed and another injured on Monday night.
Boodrod Thongdee, 25, died in in the blast, while Somchai Thongdee, 35, was injured.
Somkid Thongdee, who was with the two victims, survived the explosion without injury.
He maintained that they had entered the area to collect wild orchids.
A local community leader, however, has raised doubts about the claim, saying that locals had long known that the concession area was out of bounds.
“Some measures have been used to deter thieves,” the community leader said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Police on Tuesday found mines planted in the concession area.
One of them was apparently similar to a device that police had seized from bird’s-nest watchers last year.
