A live hand grenade was discovered at a home in Sisaket after a family’s pet dog carried the device into the property on July 10, prompting police and bomb disposal officers to destroy the explosive.
District officials received a report that a suspicious object resembling a grenade had been found at a house in Bok subdistrict, Non Khun district. Police and relevant agencies were immediately dispatched over concerns it could be a live explosive.
When officials arrived, the homeowner had already moved the object to an open area away from the house as a precaution before officers secured the scene and examined it.
The homeowner, identified only as Rungnapa, said they returned home that afternoon and noticed a rusty, dark-coloured round object outside the house. After picking it up, they spotted what appeared to be a grenade’s safety pin, immediately moved it to an open area away from the house and asked their grandmother where it had come from.
She said the family’s dog had carried the object home from an unknown location earlier that morning and spent some time chewing on it outside the house. Family members initially mistook it for an old bone or a piece of plastic until Rungnapa discovered the safety pin.
“If the dog had bitten the pin or dropped it hard, I don’t know what would have happened. It still gives me chills thinking about it because everyone in the house, including the dog, was close to the grenade all morning,” Rungnapa said.
Police carried out an initial inspection before calling in an explosive ordnance disposal team, which confirmed the device was a Type 82-2 fragmentation hand grenade manufactured in China.
Although the exterior was heavily rusted, officials said its key mechanisms remained intact and it was still capable of exploding if the safety pin was removed or it received a suitable impact.
Officials added that grenades of this type are sometimes found in border areas after being abandoned for many years. They warned that rust does not mean an explosive has become safe, as ageing devices can be even more unpredictable because their internal mechanisms cannot be assessed externally.
After completing their examination, the bomb disposal team transported the grenade to a rice field away from the community and destroyed it.
Khaosod reported that the controlled explosion left a crater about 30 centimetres deep and 60 centimetres wide, confirming the grenade remained operational. No one was injured in the incident.
District officials urged the public not to touch, move or examine any object resembling a grenade, ammunition or other military ordnance. Instead, they advised residents to notify relevant officials immediately so trained specialists can respond safely.
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Chattarin Siradakul
With a degree in language and culture, focusing on media studies, from Chulalongkorn University, Chattarin has both an international and a digital mindset. During his studies, he spent 1 year studying Liberal Arts in Japan and 2 months doing internship at the Royal Thai Embassy in Ankara, both of which helped him develop a deep understanding of the relationship between society and media. Outside of work, he enjoys watching films and playing games, as well as creating YouTube videos.