BANGKOK: A huge bomb ripped through a shrine in the Thai capital, killing 18 people and injuring at least 80 others, according to Thai media reports.
Several of those killed were foreigners. Most of the injured were tourists from China and Taiwan.
CCTV video shows pedestrians running from a flash of bright orange light near the Erawan Shrine near shopping malls and five-star hotels in Bangkok's Chitlom district.
They included children who fell to the ground in terror.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct-jaQd9GPk
"All I can say now is there has been an explosion in central Bangkok involving a motorcycle bomb," Deputy National Police Chief Aek Angsananond said.
He said there had been fatalities, but could not confirm details.
The explosion occurred around 7pm when the area is usually packed with people.
Police said initial reports were that the blast may have been caused by a motorcycle bomb.
Witnesses said people at a shrine were hit by the full force of the blast.
The shrine is adjacent to the well-known Ratchaprasong intersection, where political demonstrations have taken place in the past is a major tourist attraction.
The area has been cordoned off by police.
Ambulances were at the scene. The blast could be heard a kilometre away.
Police said they were checking reports of a second unexploded bomb in the capital near the shrine complex.
Bomb squad personnel are trying to defuse another bomb, according to media reports.
Injured victims were taken to seven hospitals. The blast could be heard a kilometre away.
At least one of the dead is believed to have been a guest of a hotel near the blast.
Caroen Sida, 37, a security guard, said after the blast "everyone was screaming and running."
"There was a huge force coming from a motorcycle. No-one dared go into the intersection," he said.
"The perpetrators intended to destroy the economy and tourism because the incident occurred in the heart of the tourist district," Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan told Reuters.
Thailand has been ruled by a military government since the army toppled democratically elected government last year.
The bomb will inflame political tensions in the country and will likely damage Thailand's tourist industry that had recovered from month's of political instability last year.
The military government is likely to react with a security clampdown, possibly martial law.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Thai forces are fighting a low-level Muslim insurgency in the predominantly Buddhist country's south, although those rebels have rarely launched attacks outside their ethnic Malay heartland.
The country has also been riven for a decade by intense and sometimes violent rivalry between political factions in Bangkok and elsewhere.
The Erawan Shrine, on a busy corner near top hotels, shopping centres and offices, is a major tourist attraction, especially for visitors from East Asia. Many ordinary Thais also worship there.
With Reuters
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct-jaQd9GPk
Several of those killed were foreigners. Most of the injured were tourists from China and Taiwan.
CCTV video shows pedestrians running from a flash of bright orange light near the Erawan Shrine near shopping malls and five-star hotels in Bangkok's Chitlom district.
They included children who fell to the ground in terror.
VIDEO Blast Rips Bangkok
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct-jaQd9GPk
"All I can say now is there has been an explosion in central Bangkok involving a motorcycle bomb," Deputy National Police Chief Aek Angsananond said.
He said there had been fatalities, but could not confirm details.
The explosion occurred around 7pm when the area is usually packed with people.
Police said initial reports were that the blast may have been caused by a motorcycle bomb.
Witnesses said people at a shrine were hit by the full force of the blast.
The shrine is adjacent to the well-known Ratchaprasong intersection, where political demonstrations have taken place in the past is a major tourist attraction.
The area has been cordoned off by police.
Ambulances were at the scene. The blast could be heard a kilometre away.
Police said they were checking reports of a second unexploded bomb in the capital near the shrine complex.
Bomb squad personnel are trying to defuse another bomb, according to media reports.
Injured victims were taken to seven hospitals. The blast could be heard a kilometre away.
At least one of the dead is believed to have been a guest of a hotel near the blast.
Caroen Sida, 37, a security guard, said after the blast "everyone was screaming and running."
"There was a huge force coming from a motorcycle. No-one dared go into the intersection," he said.
"The perpetrators intended to destroy the economy and tourism because the incident occurred in the heart of the tourist district," Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan told Reuters.
Thailand has been ruled by a military government since the army toppled democratically elected government last year.
The bomb will inflame political tensions in the country and will likely damage Thailand's tourist industry that had recovered from month's of political instability last year.
The military government is likely to react with a security clampdown, possibly martial law.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Thai forces are fighting a low-level Muslim insurgency in the predominantly Buddhist country's south, although those rebels have rarely launched attacks outside their ethnic Malay heartland.
The country has also been riven for a decade by intense and sometimes violent rivalry between political factions in Bangkok and elsewhere.
The Erawan Shrine, on a busy corner near top hotels, shopping centres and offices, is a major tourist attraction, especially for visitors from East Asia. Many ordinary Thais also worship there.
With Reuters
VIDEO Blast Rips Bangkok
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct-jaQd9GPk
This is an extremely sad day for Thailand.
My condolences goes out to the families of those that were lost to this cowardly act.
Posted by reader on August 17, 2015 23:25