Bangkok bomb horror: At least 16 die, many hurt in Erawan shrine blast
Post Reporters
Central Bangkok descended into chaos yesterday evening when a bomb exploded at Ratchaprasong intersection, killing 16 people, including two foreigners, and injuring at least 80.
The explosion occurred about 7pm near the Brahmin statue at the Erawan Shrine on the intersection packed with evening rush-hour commuters and tourists, many of whom were visiting the shrine.
Police said the bomb was left on a bench beside the low fence of the shrine close to the intersection. Two objects suspected to be explosive devices were also discovered next to a nearby BTS station pillar near the shrine.
At least two foreign nationals were among the dead, according to the national police chief. One was from China and the other from the Philippines although their identities were not released.
About seven of the bodies were collected from the shrine by Por Teck Tung rescue volunteers.
At least five motorcycles caught fire. Police denied the bomb had been planted in a motorcycle.
At 7.15pm, police closed the intersection to traffic to allow bomb disposal experts to get to the scene and rescue workers to move in. BTS trains to the area were immediately halted.
National police chief Somyot Poompunmuang said the bomb at the shrine was improvised, with gunpowder stuffed inside a pipe, and detonated in a similar way to how a TNT device is set off.
“It was a barbaric act perpetrated during a busy time and the attack was meant to kill people,” he said, adding the device was capable of causing destruction within a 40-metre radius.
Several bodies with visible burns were seen at the intersection, which was littered with human remains and debris from the blast. Rescue workers administered first aid to the injured, who sustained deep wounds and lacerations, and took them to the nearby Police General Hospital.
Some of the injured were also rushed to Ramathibodi, Rajavithi, Phramongkutklao, Chulalongkorn, Klang, Bangkok Christian and Phayathai 1 hospitals.
The emergency room of the Police General Hospital, which sits across Ratchaprasong intersection, was swamped last night attending to people hurt in the blasts.
A staff member said about 20 people rushed to the hospital were in critical condition.