Bomb blast kills 20, injures 117 in Thailand

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THAILAND: NO fewer than 20 persons were sent to their early graves on Monday when a bomb exploded in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.

More than 117 people were also injured when the bomb, which police said was made from a pipe wrapped in cloth, went off in the evening hours at a popular shrine in the city.

Though no group has claimed responsibility for the blast, but it was believed that the incident recorded the recent worst single blast, which has high casualty, in Thailand.

GatewayMail learnt that the centre of the blast, Erawan Shrine, was often filled with large number of people who included office workers, shoppers and even tourists.

Speaking on the blast, the National Police Chief, Somyot Poompummuang, described it a cruel act, which was designed to kill.

“Whoever planted this bomb is cruel and aimed to kill,” Poompummuang said, adding: “They aim to kill because everyone knows that at 7 p.m. the shrine is crowded with Thais and foreigners.”

“Planting a bomb there means they want to see a lot of people dead,” the police boss said.

The police chief denied that 27 people were killed in what he called “unprecedented attack”, but the Narinthorn Emergency Medical Rescue Centre confirmed 18 dead and 117 injured.

“It was a pipe bomb. It was placed inside the Erawan Shrine,” Poompummuang, who confirmed that among those dead were Chinese and Filipino nationals, said.

Also speaking, the Secretary of the National Security Council, Anusit Kunakorn, said Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a one-time Army Chief, was deeply concerned and had been monitoring the development.

Similarly, the Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said: “We still don’t know for sure who did this and why.”

“We are not sure if it is politically motivated, but they aim to harm our economy and we will hunt them down,” Wongsuwon told reporters.