Police deal with active bomb in central Bangkok

Fierce blast… This image taken from security footage provided by Thai PBS shows the moment of an explosion in central Bangkok, Thailand.

An explosion tore through a major intersection in the center of Bangkok, Thailand’s capital city, near a Hindu shrine popular with tourists.

A Reuters witness at the scene said she saw pieces of human flesh near the blast site, and a soldier later told onlookers to move back, saying they were checking for a second bomb.

“The situation is still not safe”.

The explosion sent bodies flying, damaged the shrine walls and left a six-foot crater in the busy downtown Ratchaprasong intersection in Pathum Wan, near the government-owned Erawan Hotel, according to the Reuters news service.

At least 27 people have been killed and 78 injured after a bomb exploded in central Bangkok, local media say.

The blast hit at around 6:30 pm when the shrine was packed with worshippers and tourists – although it was not possible to immediately confirm if foreigners were among the casualties. Thai media said most of the dead and injured were from China or Taiwan.

At least one other bomb was found in the area and detonated by police.

The force of the bomb was said to be very intense, with reporters likening the scene to Iraq and Afghanistan.

There were bodies everywhere.

The government set up a “war room” to coordinate the response to the blast, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said. “Some were shredded…it was horrific”, Mr Cunningham said. “Windows were shattered, there were definitely injured people around and several bodies were still on the scene”.

Vehicle bombs are nearly unknown in Bangkok, but have been used in southern Thailand, where a Muslim separatist insurgency has been flaring for several years. But police said it was too soon to determine the attack’s motive. There was speculation that supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra carried out the attacks in revenge; however, the bombings were never resolved.

“The Thai capital has been fairly peaceful since the military deposed a democratically elected government in May 2014, after months of sometimes violent protest against that government”.