Philip Blenkinsop injured by bomb in Yala, Thailand

Craig May 22nd, 2007

Bangkok based Australian photographer Philip Blenkinsop was injured by a bomb blast while covering the insurgency in Southern Thailand for Time magazine. He is the first foreign journalist to be injured since the unrest began in January 2004. Also injured were three Thai policemen who were investigating the crime scene.

Blenkinsop was photographing the body of Prathep Srimai, a 44 year old worker at Yala Municipality’s health office. Prathep had been shot in the head, set on fire and dumped by the side of the road. When police arrived to investigate, a bomb that had been planted under the body exploded. Authorities said the use of second bomb as a trap at crime scene appeared to be a growing tactic directed at reinforcement or officials investigating a crime scene. The Malay-speaking southern provinces of Thailand have been the scene of almost daily bombings and shootings targeting representatives of the Thai authorities - police, soldiers, teachers and increasingly ordinary citizens. The attacks are blamed on Muslim insurgents waging a separatist campaign. Blenkinsop was 2m away from the bomb when it exploded and was treated at Yala Hospital for minor shrapnel wounds. He was released the same day and returned to his home in Bangkok.

Blenkinsop’s career began with The Australian newspaper in the 1980s, but he soon quit his job, sold his car and relocated to Bangkok and has been based there since the mid 1980s. He’s covered covered a number of conflicts, including the guerrilla war in Indonesia’s Aceh province, the communist insurgency in Nepal and the plight of the ethnic Hmong in communist Laos. Currently represented by Agence Vu, in France, he has won several major awards, including the 2005 Visa d’Or for News and the 2003 Visa d’Or for Features at the International Festival of Photojournalism in Perpignan, France. He was a member of the jury at the 2007 World Press Photo awards. For a look at some of his work, he was featured in the December 2004 edition of Dirck Halstead’s Digital Journalist, documenting conflicts throughout Asia. These pictures are not for the squeamish and parents may want to make sure there are no children present when viewing.

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