Dead in Bangkok Blast

Thai officials say the blast was targeting tourists, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The explosion, in the Rachaprasong intersection of central Bangkok, was confirmed by local police to be set off by a bomb.

Local TV showed burnt motorbikes on the main road, with paramedics and police taking the injured away.

The explosion happened at the Rajprasong intersection, the center of many political demonstrations in recent years.

A BBC correspondent also noted that there were “body parts scattered everywhere”, as well as a crater left by the blast. There has been a Muslim insurgency, but this has been largely confined to the south of the country and attacks rarely take place elsewhere.

People around the shrine were hit by the full force of the blast, he said.

Charred and shattered motorcycles littered the scene, along with hunks of concrete from the shrine, with pools of blood on the pavement and two bodies crumpled on the steps of the shrine.

The Department of Foreign Affairs say they are aware of the situation, but have “no confirmation of Irish casualties”.

Domestic media said 27 people had been killed, 10 of them men and 17 women. It occurred in front of the Erawan Shrine, a tourist landmark also popular with Thais.

The area around Bangkok’s Erawan Shrine is filled with hundreds of tourists, office workers and shoppers at any given time.

Bits of bodies had been flung around and others “shredded” in what he called a horrific scene. Twelve died at the scene and another seven have since died in hospital, according to the latest information from authorities.

“I can confirm it was a bomb, we can’t tell which kind yet, we are checking”, national police spokesman Lieutenant-General Prawut Thavornsiri told AFP.

Police checked the area for other devices but no further bombs have been found, the paper said. Auto bombs are extremely rare in Bangkok, which has remained relatively peaceful since a military coup ousted the civilian government last May.