Bangkok blast: Thai police release main suspect’s sketch

Authorities have called it the worst attack in Thai history. But, “authorities don’t know whether the man is still in the country”.

No-one has yet said they carried out the attack.

Police spokesman Lt. Gen. Prawut Thavornsiri earlier released a still from surveillance footage showing two “persons of interest” in the investigation – one wearing a red top and the other a white top.

Thai police chief Somyot Poompanmoung said: “I believe that this act was not carried out alone”. No-one has claimed responsibility for the blast at one of the capital’s busiest intersections during evening rush hour.

Thai authorities have released security video footage that showed a man in a yellow shirt leaving a backpack inside the Erawan shrine. Moments later, he removes the backpack, deposits it on a bench and walks off.

Thai police offered a reward equivalent to $28,000 for tips that would lead to the suspect’s arrest.

Little is known about the suspect behind the blast or a motive.

The arrest warrant describes him as tall, with a pointed nose and thick lips.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha appealed to the man in the video to come forward, warning that the suspect “might get killed to stop him from talking”. The government says the bombing was created to the wreck Thailand’s economy, as the shrine is particularly popular with tourists.

The shrine – a popular tourist attraction that typifies the kingdom’s unusual blend of Hindu and Buddhist traditions – and its surrounding had already been largely restored.

Among the devotees was an office worker, Nuansupha Sarunsikarin, who expressed shock and sadness over the attack.

The police said the suspected bomber was Caucasian, Arab or mixed race, and aged 20 to 30. “Tests can identify the type of gunpowder from soot found on victims’ clothes and tissue”, local media quoted unnamed sources as saying.

Bangkok was rattled again on Tuesday when another pipe bomb blew up at the Sathorn Pier, which is used by tourists, although no one was hurt.

They had said that at least 10 people were suspected of involvement in the attack, and that the prime suspect was foreign.

The Bangkok bombing has captivated people across the country, but attacks in southern Thailand have killed more than 6,500 since January 2004, according to Thitinan Pongsudhiral, chairman of the Center for Strategy Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Thai Police on Tuesday said they are hunting for a suspect, who they believe is connected to the bombing, which ripped through crowds gathered near the Erawan Shrine, in Bangkok.