Bangkok bomb: Deadly blast rocks Thailand capital

A bomb has exploded close to a shrine in the centre of the Thai capital, Bangkok, police say.
Local reports suggest at least 12 people have died and at least 20 more have been injured.
The BBC's Jonathan Head, who is at the scene, says there is a huge amount of chaos, with body parts scattered everywhere.
The attack took place close to the Erawan Shrine in the capital's central Chidlom district.
The explosion occurred at about 19:00 local time (12:00 GMT), with police saying it may have been caused by a motorcycle bomb.

No-one has yet claimed the attack.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33963280

I know the area well, my betting is this is connected to the Muslim seperatist provinces in the south- though usually their attacks are confined to those 3 small provinces bordering Malaysia. I don't imagine anyone else choosing a holy site for an attack however, most Thais are absolutely respectful of religious things regardless what a how much they believe.
Absolutely awful for those affected x

Eilzel wrote:I know the area well, my betting is this is connected to the Muslim seperatist provinces in the south- though usually their attacks are confined to those 3 small provinces bordering Malaysia. I don't imagine anyone else choosing a holy site for an attack however, most Thais are absolutely respectful of religious things regardless what a how much they believe.
Absolutely awful for those affected x

I was going to ask Eilzel if you had heard anything?

To be fair I'm as far from the blast site as Westminster is from Tower Bridge. The first I heard was messages from England checking up on me. I'll hear more tomorrow.

Been reading it was a Hindu site?

Bangkok bomb: at least 12 reportedly killed outside Erawan shrine
At least 12 dead, say police and rescue worker at scene, after explosion near Hindu place of worship on main road through centre of Thai capital

A bomb has exploded outside a Hindu shrine in central Bangkok, killing at least 12 people and wounding many more, according to a police officer and rescue worker at the scene.
Body parts and mangled scooters were scattered across the street after the explosion outside the Erawan shrine in the central Chidlom district of the Thai capital.
Dozens of ambulances are at the scene and a nearby metro station has been closed. There are unconfirmed reports in Thai media that the death toll is at least 27, including four foreigners.
A spokesman for Thailand’s ruling junta said a second bomb at the scene had been found and made safe.
A police chief told Reuters: “All I can say now is there has been an explosion in central Bangkok involving a motorcycle bomb.” He said there had been fatalities, but could not confirm details.
Police and a rescue worker told Reuters 12 people had been killed in the blast, which happened at about 7pm local time (12.00 GMT). Local media put the number of injured at 20.

Thanapon Peng, 25, passed the site on a motorbike taxi moments after the blast.
“I saw glass. I saw some organs of people on the road. I don’t know how many people there were,” he told the Guardian in the lobby of the Grand Hyatt hotel, where tourists and Thais have been waiting until they get the all clear to leave.
“I heard that about 80 people are wounded but we don’t know how many died.”
   


Motorcycles lie on the street at the scene of the explosion near the Erawan Shrine in central Bangkok. Photograph: Ritchie B Tongo/EPA  
Police with torches have been looking under bushes and walking the grounds of the nearby Royal Thai police station in an apparent effort to search for other bombs.
A long line of ambulances has formed outside a hospital located close to the blast site, so many of the injured are being taken to medical centres further away.
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.


Bangkok rescuers attempt to reach survivors of shrine bombing.  
The country has also been riven for a decade by intense and sometimes violent rivalry between political factions in Bangkok and elsewhere.
The army has ruled Thailand since May 2014, when it ousted an elected government after months of, at times, violent anti-government protests.
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 Thai people worship there.
The shrine intersection was the site of months of anti-government protests in 2010 by supporters of ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Dozens were killed in a military crackdown and a shopping centre was set ablaze.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/17/bangkok-rocked-by-explosion-at-busy-road-junction

Yes its one of a few Hindu shrines in the area, Hinduism and Buddhism go hand in hand for most people in Thailand. Although officially Buddhist, the major Hindu gods are highly revered too, which is why I don't imagine general political dissenters explosing a bomb there.

Keep safe Les, know it's some way away.

Thanks Sass x

Saw it on the news. Bodies everywhere. Awful scenes

Look after yourself and stay safe Les.

Absolutely awful.

Stay safe inside, both of you xxx

Thanks for the concern guys x
I expect to see a hightened military presence for a while, hopefully they will find out who did it before long.

Another bomb this afternoon, this time near the river at Saphan Taksin station. It was a grenade and thankfully, although aimed at nearby taxis, fell into the river harming no one.

A lot of speculation about the culprits, but video footage shows a man who could be from the Uighir Muslim minority. Thailand recently deported some of this group back to China (on Beijing's request), so this could be backlash from that.

If that does turn out to be the case, I expect the junta to be heavyhanded in response- so this would be pretty counter productive for them.

If it is them of course.

Whoever it is, let's hope they are caught.

Two suspects in the Bangkok bombing have handed themselves in to police, insisting they are tour guides.

Thai authorities said that the men are now being questioned.

According to the BBC, the men, in red and white T-shirts, rose from a bench shortly before the main suspect, in yellow, sat down and left behind his backpack.

The explosion at the Erawan Shrine on Monday killed 20 people and left as many as 140 injured.

Police spokesman Lt Gen Prawut Thavornsiri has previously said that he was absolutely certain that the figure in the yellow T-shirt in the video was responsible for the attack.

He said on Tuesday: "The yellow shirt guy is not just the suspect. He is the bomber.”

The news comes after Thailand's police chief, Somyot Poompanmuang, said at least 10 people were involved in the attack.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/08/20/bangkok-bombing-suspects-police-tour-guides_n_8015014.html?utm_hp_ref=uk

Terrible event  Good to hear you're ok Les xxx

Thanks FtL x

It is odd no one has claimed responsibility- what is the point in such an attack without a specified aim afterall?

Some speculation among people here of 'Reichstag fire' work at play. Which would make sense, but I really hope is just speculation.