LPG tanker removed by troops

The first truck was parked near the Din Daeng flats early yesterday, prompting concern among residents and resulting in many fleeing the area. The protesters later opened the tanker's valves, releasing LPG into the air.

News reports said this LPG truck had a capacity of 8 tonnes - twice the size of the tanker that exploded on Phetchaburi Road in 1990, killing 59 people and injuring 89 others.

The residents initially tried to talk the protesters into moving the truck away. When they refused to comply, the residents sent a group of men armed with sticks to chase them away.

The clashes in the Din Daeng flats area ended after the protesters were outnumbered by residents and soldiers, who fired live ammunition in the air and charged at them with shields and batons. Some injuries were reported.

At 10am, a second LPG truck used to block the inbound lanes on Sri Ayutthaya Road was seized after soldiers dispersed the red shirts.

Former supreme commander General Chaisit Shinawatra, who is related to fugitive Thaksin, countered a statement by Deputy Government Spokesman Supachai Jaisamut that he had commandeered the trucks for Thaksin's supporters. Chaisit said he was only chairman and not owner of Siam Gas, which the trucks belonged to.

Speaking by phone from abroad, Chaisit said he would hold Supachai responsible for this statement. "He cannot make allegations without proof. He needs evidence to support what he says."

Before the LPG trucks were removed, Rajvithee Hospital director Dr Warunee Jinarat pleaded with protesters to stop using gas tanks as a negotiating tool, saying burns caused by gas explosions could be very severe.