Bangkok blast: British woman confirmed among 22 dead



A blast in central Bangkok has killed at least 20 people, far right the suspect in yellow shirt



A British woman is among the people killed in yesterday's Bangkok bomb attack.

 

The woman, who is yet to be formally identified, lived in Hong Kong and has been named locally as Vivian Chan Wing-Yan, 19, who was studying at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

Her fellow former Harrow International School pupil Michelle Lou was still in shock at the news of her friend's death.

She said: "She was a really kind and cheerful person in general – she really loved to travel around and just go to a lot of different, good restaurants."

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said: "The loss of life and injury in Bangkok is horrific and I condemn this callous act of violence against completely innocent and unsuspecting members of the public.

 

The grenade was dropped above ferries but fell into the water

 

The remnants of the second bomb in Bangkok

CCTV has been released of a suspect believed to be linked to the bombings

 

Security camera CCTV released by the Thai Authorities showing a male suspect wearing a yellow shirt

 

The suspect was seen walking away from the blast calmly

 

Experts investigate the Erawan shrine at the site of a deadly blast in central Bangkok

 

This mobile phone image shows the carnage direclty after the explosion

 

Thai rescue workers transport an injured person after a bomb exploded outside a religious shrine in central Bangkok

 

A policeman photographs debris from an explosion in central Bangkok

 

The location of the bomb

 

Police say a motorcycle bomb caused the blast

 

A Thai soldier at the site of the bomb

"I can confirm that one British national, a resident of Hong Kong, lost her life in the attack. British Embassy staff in Thailand are assisting her family at this very difficult time.

"My thoughts are with the victims, their families and loved ones, and with the Thai people.

"Foreign Office officials are in close contact with the Thai authorities and have offered UK assistance in the investigation of this abhorrent act.

"British nationals in Thailand should check the Foreign Office website for the latest travel advice."

The news comes after Thai Police released CCTV footage of a man they believe to have planted the bomb.

Thai Police confirmed today that the man pictured in yellow in CCTV footage is the Bangkok bomber who set off an explosion, which killed at least 22 people, in the centre of a holy shrine.

"The yellow shirt guy is not just the suspect. He is the bomber," Police Lt. Gen. Prawut Thavornsiri, a police spokesman said.

A chilling video shows him arriving at the holy site, before sitting down and taking off him backpak.

He then calmly walks away, minutes before the fatal explosion took place.

The revelation comes as two explosive devices were set off in the Thai capital just a day after a horrifying attack on a temple. 

One bomb was thrown near a rail station near the Saphan Taksin BTS skytrain just hours after another small explosive device was thrown from a bridge into the Chao Phraya River in central Bangkok.

Reports indicated the device thrown from the bridge was a hand grenade. However, it missed its intended target and fell into the river below, before exploding beneath the surface.

The incident happened beneath the Taksin Bridge, in the centre of the city, where a number of ferry companies operate, taking tourists around the city’s waterways.

 

A police officer confirmed there were no injuries and that police are currently at the scene and have sealed off the area while they look for and collect evidence.

Colonel Natakit Siriwongtawan, deputy police chief of the Klongsan district, said an unidentified man threw the explosive near a busy pier on the city’s Chao Phraya River and that it landed in a canal.

"If it did not fall in the water then it certainly would have caused injuries," he said.

Earlier CCTV footage was released of a man who initially was believed to be the suspected bomber of the first explosion - later to be confirmed as the bomber.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said: "I have ordered the cameras be checked because there is one suspect, but it is not clear who he is."

 

The images show a man, carrying a rucksack and wearing glasses near the Erawan Shrine in the centre of the Thai capital.

He then leaves the area without his bag about 15 minutes before the deadly explosion at 7pm local time yesterday.

Video footage posted separately on Thai media also showed the same man sitting on a bench at the crowded shrine, then taking off the backpack and leaving it behind as he walked away.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said the man was from the southeast Asian country's northeast, which is the heartland of the anti-military government Red Shirt movement.

Officials admitted they had no idea that the bombing was planned – but said it was aimed at destroying the country's economy by targeting a tourist area.

 

The Thai baht currency plunged to its weakest level since April 2009 after the blast – which Chan-ocha has described as the "worst incident" in the country's history.

Defence minister Prawit Wongsuwan said: "It is much clearer who the bombers are, but I can't reveal more right now. We haven't ruled out terrorism."

Previous reports suggested Thai authorities were looking for a bomber who planted the explosive on a motorcycle.

It was also believed the bomb, which was planted at a Hindu temple popular with Buddhists, may have been related to Muslim separatists in the south of the country.

 

It comes as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is frantically trying to establish whether any Britons are among those injured or killed in the tourist hotspot.

A spokesman said: "We're in contact with local authorities and are urgently seeking further information following reports of the explosion."

Currently the governemtn is not advising Britons to avoid Bangkok despite the explosion.

Hong Kong is advising its citizens to avoid non-essential trips to Bangkok as it raised its travel alert to red, but the British Government has not taken similar action.

Travel advice issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) states: "Local police have confirmed a bomb explosion at 7pm on 17 August 2015 at the Ratchprasong intersection next to the Erawan Shrine in central Bangkok. There are reports of casualties.

"The British Embassy is in contact with local authorities. You should monitor news reports, follow the advice of local authorities and take extra care.

"There is a high threat from terrorism."

Police chief Prawut Thawornsiri said the blast, near a shrine at a major Bangkok intersection, was caused by a bomb believed to have been planted on a motorcyle.

The possible terror attack, which took place at around 7pm local time, or 1pm BST, happened near the Erawan Shrine, next to a five-star hotel in the centre of the Thai capital's Chidlom district.

The police chief added: "Those who have planted this bomb are cruel. They aim to kill because everyone knows that at 7pm the shrine is crowded with Thais and foreigners.

"Planting a bomb there means they want to see a lot of dead people."

The shrine is to the Hindu god Brahma, but is also a centre of worship for Buddhists and is a popular site for tourists.

 

Briton and former Bangkok resident Lucinda-Jane Chastain saw the blast.

She told Sky News: "It was just this massive explosive noise. The whole building shook.

"We all ran to the windows. It was quite hard to see what was happening but we could see debris in the street.

"All we can see is a horrible mess on the road. This is at the very heart of Bangkok.

"It's the last place in the world you'd expect something like this to happen."

 

The explosion was at the Rajprasong intersection, which is often used for political demonstrations.

Reports from local media say four foreigners are among 27 dead. The official number of fatalities according to public health officials is currently at 18.

Thai sources say two Chinese people and one Filipino are among the dead.

However, Hong Kong journalists claim at least three residents of the former British colony have been killed.

Local police said there was also another bomb found at the scene but it is understood this was not detonated.

It has been reported there was a third bomb placed on a skytrain but this also failed to go off.

Thai deputy national police chief Aek Angsananond seemed to confirm it was a terror attack when he told reporters: "We still don't know for sure who did this and why.

 

"We are not sure if it is politically motivated, but they aim to harm our economy and we will hunt them down."

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The US State Department said it was "too soon" to tell if it was a terror attack.

Witnesses say they saw pieces of human flesh near the blast site, and a soldier later told onlookers to move back, saying they were checking for a second bomb.

Dramatic CCTV footage has been released showing people fleeing the blast.

Defence minister Prawit Wongsuwan said: "The perpetrators intended to destroy the economy and tourism because the incident occurred in the heart of the tourism district."

 

Government officials said the bomb, which some report was planted on a motorcycle and others say was on a bench, was targeted at tourists.

The shrine is said to be particularly popular with Chinese visitors.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said: "China expresses strong condemnation of the bombing."

Hua said four Chinese tourists were killed, including two Hong Kong residents, and that more than 20 Chinese tourists were wounded in the blast.

Bangkok authorities have asked locals for blood donations to help the injuried.

Thailand's capital has been relatively peaceful since a military coup ousted a civilian government in May last year.

This came after several months of sometimes violent political protests against the previous regime.

However, in recent months tensions have risen as the ruling junta has made clear it may not hold elections until 2017 and wants a constitution that will allow some type of emergency rule to take the place of an elected government.

 

More than 900,000 Britons visit Thailand each year, with the Foreign Office advising of a 'high threat' of terrorism in the country.

The Foreign Office said the British embassy was monitoring the situation.

Last month the FCO warned against all but essential travel to Tunisia amid fears of a fresh terror attack almost two weeks after the atrocity in Sousse in which 30 British nationals were among the 38 killed by a gunman.

That decision led to criticism at home and abroad as the Tunisian government expressed concern it would have a devastating effect on the country's tourism industry, while some holidaymakers questioned why they were being told to leave when other European nationals were not.

Bombings are rare in Bangkok, but have been more common in southern Thailand, where a separatist insurgency has been flaring for several years.

 

The last major bombings in Bangkok occurred on New Year's Eve at the end of 2006, when a series of explosions at celebrations around town killed at least three people and wounded dozens. 

Those bombings occurred just three months after a military coup ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and there was speculation that his supporters carried out the attacks in revenge. However, the bombings were never solved.

 

In March this year, several arrests were made in connection with a grenade that was tossed at Bangkok's Criminal Court. 

Those detained were apparently sympathisers of the pro-Thaksin Red Shirt movement. 

Critics of the current military government say some of the bombings may have been carried out by the junta to justify its continued suppression of basic rights and liberties. 

The government denied that.

While in April, a car bomb exploded at a shopping mall on the resort island of Samui, injuring seven people. 

The motive was unclear, though the government suggested it was linked to politics.