At least 18 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in an explosion at a popular tourist spot in the Thai capital of Bangkok, in a deadly attack that local authorities have called “unprecedented.”
The explosion occurred around 7pm local time at the Erawan Shrine, near shopping malls and hotels, and CCTV footage shows pedestrians running in fear from a bright orange flash.
Police say that a pipe bomb was placed inside the shrine. Some of those killed in the blast were international tourists, but DFAT and the Australian Embassy have not yet confirmed whether any of these were Australian.
Local media report that many of those injured in the blast were tourists from China and Taiwan.
Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said the bombers had “targeted foreigners … to damage tourism and the economy,” adding “we will hunt them down.”
Australian tourist Johnny Murray was standing with his girlfriend on a walkway overlooking the shrine when the blast happened, and described the resulting chaos.
“It was like a shockwave though our bodies, I’ve never actually experienced anything so powerful like that ever,” he said. “Our ears were ringing, we hit the floor and there was shrapnel everywhere, smoke and people screaming.”
Murray said that he and his girlfriend went to try and help, but were stopped by police, who feared other bombs in the area.
“There were people with parts of their legs hanging off, blood all over the ground and where the explosion went off there were just people everywhere … scattered,” he said.
“There were people crawling off the road.”
via Sky News
Photo: Barcroft Media via Getty Images
Photo: Barcroft Media via Getty Images
