Police hunt for suspect in deadly Bangkok blast

The government said Monday evening’s attack at the popular Erawan shrine in the heart of Bangkok was aimed at wrecking the economy, which depends heavily on tourism.

Earlier, Thai police stated that the man in the footage wearing the yellow t-shirt “is the bomber”.

Adding to the jitters, a new explosion was heard Tuesday at a pier on the Chao Praya River that flows through Bangkok, police told CNN.

“Those who have planted this bomb are cruel”, said national police chief Somyot Poompummuang. No matter what their intentions are, they took lives of innocent people.

Thailand has seen many violent attacks in recent years, particularly in a more-than-decade-long insurgency by Muslim separatists that has killed over 5,000 in the country’s south. Those attacks have never reached the capital, however.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the bombing.

“You were such a cheerful person and had one of the greatest smiles that I have seen”, Sophie Hui wrote in tribute to her friend on Tuesday.

The central Bangkok intersection where the bomb went off has been reopened to traffic, some 17 hours after the devastating explosion.

“Our thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones”, said Brad Adams, Asia director.

The bomb detonated at Erawan Shrine, which is dedicated to the Hindu god Brahma, but is extremely popular among Thailand’s Buddhists as well as Chinese tourists.

Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said authorities had no idea an attack had been planned.

“The ongoing attempts at destruction might be politically motivated, targeting the economy, tourism for whatever reason”.

Thai authorities said on Wednesday they were looking for accomplices of the chief suspect for the Bangkok shrine bomb blast that killed 22 people, a man who was captured on closed-circuit television (CCTV) dumping a backpack and walking away.

Security camera footage showed people on the Sathorn Pier below the bridge being sprayed with water after the explosive blew up, with other bystanders running for safety. “The Royal Thai Government shall expedite all investigative efforts to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice”. About five Chinese nationals were reported to be among those killed in Monday’s blast, and many more were injured.

In an attempt to show he was on top of the situation, Prayuth said he had ordered the police and security forces to “hurry and find the bombers”.

Finally, Liow says the attack could be connected to political elements who are opposed to the current military junta.

At least 18 people were confirmed dead and 117 injured, according to the Narinthorn emergency medical rescue center.

Over the past year, Thailand’s military government has banned protests and suspended democracy, while insisting the country is not yet ready for another election.

Thaksin is living in self-exile after being himself ousted as prime minister in a 2006 coup.

Several countries have issued travel warnings since the bombing.

The rural Isaan region is a stronghold for the Red Shirt movement that backed Yingluck Shinawatra and her brother (and former Manchester City owner) Thaksin – the democratically-elected siblings deposed by military coups in 2014 and 2006.

New Way Travel, a Bangkok-based agency that caters to tourists from Hong Kong, said all of its tour groups booked to arrive in the coming days have cancelled their trips.