Thieves foiled in bid to blow open Chantaburi ATM
Two masked men detonated a pipe bomb at an ATM machine in Chanthaburi early on Wednesday but were forced to flee without a single baht, police said.
The Khlung police station was alerted at 2am of the explosion at the Bangkok Bank ATM installed in front of the Imung Credit Union office in Moo 8 village, Khlung district.
The blast damaged the concrete front wall of the office and caused lamps to fall from the ceiling but the ATM machine itself remained intact.
Forensic officers were dispatched to collect evidence in an attempt to trace the would-be thieves.
A local resident told police that he was at another ATM about 100 metres away at 1.54am when he heard the sound of an explosion. He walked towards the disturbance and saw two men in balaclavas fleeing on a motorcycle. Credit Union office president Penthiwa Maliphol checked the scene and said the ATM had only been installed seven months ago.
Police said the device used was a home-made pipe bomb but the force of the blast was insufficient to crack open the steel casing of the ATM.