Erawan Shrine blast kills 20 and injures 125 in Bangkok

A deadly blast kills 20 people, and injured more than 125 in a bomb explosion close to the crowded Erawan Shrine dedicated to Lord Brahma Temple in the downtown Chidlom district, Centre of Thailand’s capital, Bangkok. The temple is located on a main road through Bangkok’s
commercial hub and is surrounded by three major shopping malls and big hotels of international chains. It is among Bangkok’s most popular tourist attractions visited by East Asian tourists and local Buddhists.
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha said there is a male suspect who appeared on CCTV near the scene of the blast.

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said that the perpetrators had used few people to commit the incident. He
said the motive behind the blast has yet to be concluded. Thai Army chief Gen Udomdej Seetabutr told local media that security officials had obtained video footages at the
bomb explosion scene which clearly showed a suspect carrying a bag into the scene before it went off.

However, Nation newspaper said police were looking for a suspect with an ‘Arab’ look who was seen leaving a bag at the shrine shortly before the blast occurred at 7 pm last evening. The man was seen on a security camera sitting on a bench in the compound of the shrine after leaving his bag behind the bench, and after a while, he was seen standing and making a call from his phone and walking fast from the area, it said.

Thailand’s baht currency slumped to a more than six-year low and shares fell in Bangkok after the blast Authorities today put the death toll at 20, revising an earlier toll of 27. The dead includes two Malaysians, twoTaiwanese, two Singaporeans, a Hongkongnese, and the rest Thais. Most of the injured foreigners are Chinese.