In PHOTOS: Deadly triple blasts rock south Thailand

At least eight people have been killed and 68 injured in three explosions that rocked the southern Thai province of Yala on Saturday, officials said.

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The blasts hit the centre of Yala around noon as shoppers gathered for lunch. Several shop and houses near the blast sites were set on fire and many parked cars and motorcycles were damaged by the powerful explosions.

Yala Governor Dethrat Simsiri said the blasts occurred over 10 minutes at around midday in the commercial district of Yala city. He said two of the bombs were hidden in motorcycles and the third in a car, the BBC reported.

The coordinated bomb blasts were triggered by suspected Muslim insurgents, said early reports.

The first bomb was hidden inside a motorcycle parked near a shopping complex. Within minutes, a second bomb hidden in another motorcycle exploded, followed by a third explosion from a device placed in a car that set fire to nearby buildings, said the governor.

Separately, a blast occurred at a hotel in the city of Hat Yai, in the nearby province of Songkhla, that officials attributed to a gas leak and said was unrelated to the attacks blamed on insurgents.