School torching a revenge, say police

"I was going to daily prayers when I saw flames raging from a room," Ban Tanyong School deputy director Atta Dorloh said.

Although Atta quickly summoned help, the fire was out of control and engulfed two buildings.

"The fire spread so fast. There are many wood¬en chairs and tables in the buildings," a policeman said.

According to police, arsonists broke into a stor¬age through a window. They poured petrol, lit it and fled.

Police said the arson was designed to keep ten¬sions high in the deep South and was in retaliation for searches for suspected insurgents in a nearby village.

Meanwhile, Krong Pinang school director Sittichai Janapibarn - a victim of a shooting - remains in intensive care at Yala Hospital

Hospital director Dr Wattana Wattayakorn said the patient was in critical condition and would require brain surgery.