Bombing suspect released after handing himself in to police

Four Chinese citizens are among the dead.

The video looks pretty damning, but it’s worth noting that security footage has led to false identifications of suspects, including mistaken ethnicities, after a number of attacks in the past, including the attempted 2010 Times Square bombing, and-with more tragic consequences-the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

The sketch has been released by cops and shows a young man with glasses and shaggy hair, and was created using facial recognition technology.

Authorities have offered a one million baht reward for information leading to the arrest of the prime suspect.

Police spokesperson Prawut Thavornsiri told reporters that he was “unsure” where the main suspect seen in CCTV footage was, and that the man may no longer be in Thailand. It is unclear whether the man was Thai or a foreigner.

The main evidence so far in the case appears to be CCTV footage of a man in a yellow T-shirt dropping a black backpack at the shrine minutes before the detonation.

He said two other men, one dressed in red and another in white, were seen milling around the first suspect, apparently shielding him from the view of the crowd as he placed the rucksack in front of a railing.

The men – a tourist and tour guide described by the colors of the shirts they were wearing at the shrine: white and red – were taken to metro police headquarters for interrogation, said Col. Decha Promsuwan, a police official in Bangkok.

The Erawan shrine, which is popular with Buddhists in Thailand, has since reopened.

But army chief Udomdej Sitabutr said on television Wednesday that the attack “does not match with incidents in southern Thailand (and) the type of bomb used is also not in keeping with the south”.

The attack has raised concerns about safety in a city that draws millions of tourists and had never experienced an attack of this magnitude.

He made the comment as he headed into a meeting of national police commanders, adding that he was carrying orders from the prime minister who “is anxious about the security of people and tourists in Thailand”.

It claimed the lives of at least 13 foreigners – from Britain, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Police spokesman Prawuth Thawornsiri said Saturday that police are seeking the man for questioning, even though it remains unclear if his actions had anything to do with either explosion.

On Wednesday, people knelt in prayer, lit incense and placed flowers at the site of the bombing. Nobody has claimed responsibility for either blast.

Damage is visible on the statue of Phra Phrom, which is the Thai interpretation of the Hindu god Brahma, after Monday’s bombing at the Erawan Shrine at Rajprasong intersection in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, August 19, 2015.