London teenager studying law is believed to be the British victim killed after explosion close to Erawan shrine kills at least 20 people. Follow latest developments here
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• Deadly bomb explodes in central Bangkok near Erawan shrine
• British female is one of the victims
• Another explosion in city centre, no injuries or individuals killed
• Police say 20 dead in yesterday's attack and at least 123 wounded
• Chinese tourist films moment of explosion
• Bangkok bomb blast: What do we know so far?
• British female is one of the victims
• Another explosion in city centre, no injuries or individuals killed
• Police say 20 dead in yesterday's attack and at least 123 wounded
• Chinese tourist films moment of explosion
• Bangkok bomb blast: What do we know so far?
17.56
In a strange twist, an Australian model and fashion blogger working in Thailand as an English language teacher said he had turned himself in to police for questioning to clear his name amid online speculation that he resembled the bomber suspect, Philip Sherwell in Bangkok.
Sunny Burns covered the process via his Instagram and Facebook accounts, noting that his phone had not been removed and saying that police were treating him well and just doing their job.
Sunny Burns, an Australian model, fashion blogger and English tutor living in Thailand, in a room where he said he was talking with police
"I forgive everyone who spread those horrible rumours about me,” he said in one posting. “I love this country and let’s fight together. Let’s find this bomber. I’m not a terrorist.”
He asked his online followers to tell his mother that he was safe, said that his major concern was the survivors injured in the attack and blamed his situation on “social media and some jealous hater spreading gossip”.
Mr Burns even delivered a sartorial rebut to claims that he bore a resemblance to the “yellow T-shirt guy” in the CCTV footage. “I would never wear those clothes for starters,” he wrote. “I’m a fashion blogger.”
Sunny Burns, an Australian model, fashion blogger and English tutor living in Thailand, on CCTV at the time of the explosion
17.37
According to Zachary Abuza, an expert on Thailand's southern insurgency, the attack does not fit with the usual actions of the two primary groups being explored: Muslim rebels from the country's insurgency-wracked deep south and hardliners on all sides of the political spectrum.
"What's so strange about this attack is it fits no-one's MO (modus operandi), neither Muslim insurgents nor anti-military groups," Mr Abuza told AFP.
"In reality I don't think you can write anyone off yet," he added.
16.30
Mel Mrowiec, headmaster at Harrow International School, released a statement in which she said she was "deeply saddened" to learn of Miss Chan's death.
The Harrow International School Hong Kong community is deeply saddened to learn of the tragic death of Vivian Chan in the devastating bomb blast in Bangkok.
Vivian was a cherished member of the school’s first cohort of leavers in June 2014. She was a tremendous role model in and a hugely committed, caring and supportive member of our school community; she will be sorely missed.
The school has been in contact with Vivian’s family to express its most sincere condolences on her passing and is coordinating condolence and support arrangements for its students, alumni, teachers and parents.
A composite image showing the site of the yesterday's blast outside the Erawan shrine this morning (top), and this afternoon following a clean up operation (bottom) Photo: REUTERS
15.58
Labour leadership candidate Yvette Cooper has said her thoughts are with the family and friends of the Briton killed.
15.45
Friends continue to pay tribute to Miss Chan, including Jeff Lok, who said: "You're cheerful and kind, always there to make us laugh.
"Thanks for all the good memories and for being a good friend. Rest in peace Vivian. You'll always be in our heart. Pray for Bangkok."
The Erawan shrine, the site of Monday's deadly blast, is pictured after the debris was cleared in central Bangkok, Thailand Photo: REUTERS
14.58
In a statement to the London Evening Standard, Peter Crip, Dean of BPP Law School, said: "Everyone at BPP University is devastated to hear of the loss of one of our students, Vivian Chan Wing Yan, in Bangkok yesterday.
"Our thoughts are with Vivian's family and we are currently working to support them in any way we can."
On the school's Facebook page, she was described as "a very bright, beautiful young lady and promising law student".
14.51
Here is what we know so far about the London student, Vivian Chan:
- She was a prolific food blogger via her Kittealuvfood account on Facebook and Instagram - the latter account has more than 11,000 followers.
In her latest post taken before she was killed, she posted an image of "meaty crabs" from her trip to Bangkok. On the post, she also provided reveiws out of 10 on service and price.
- She is believed to have studied at Harrow International School and finished last year before starting as a law student in London. A Thai society at SOAS said she had been killed but the university has provided no confirmation of this.
The society paid tribute on Facebook, saying: "We are deeply saddened to hear the news of Miss Chan, a law student at Soas, who passed away yesterday after a bomb blast in central Bangkok.
"We would like to send out heartfelt condolences to her family and friends during this difficult moment."
- Her former schoolmate, Michelle Lou, said the 19-year-old was a fan of Canto-pop, particularly, singer Joey Yung.
“Everyone in the school knew she was a crazy fan of [Yung], so whenever anyone said anything about her and Canto-pop, Vivian just went crazy about it,” the friend said.
Canto-pop singer Joey Yung, left, posted a tribute to Bangkok bomb victim Wing Yan 'Vivian' Chan, right, of the two of them together
Via Facebook, the singer paid tribute to the teenager.
“You have left a deep impression in me. Your wit, loveliness and your smile with dimples on the cheek,” she said.
“Thank you for being in my life. Our last conversation you said you would study hard and then we meet again. I hope you rest in peace.”
- She was in Thailand travelling with a friend, according to the Thai society at Soas.
13.57
The Thai Society at the School of Oriental and African Studies has apparently confirmed that Miss Chan was a student. The university based in London has yet to confirm this.
13.50
Prime Minister David Cameron has offered his condolences and said he was deeply saddened to hear a British national died.
13.42
Although it has not been confirmed by the Foreign Office, the Telegraph believes a Hong Kong law student, named by the South China Morning Post, could be the female killed.
Wing Yan 'Vivian' Chan, who was studying law in the UK and from Hong Kong, was described by student friends as kind and cheerful.
Canto-pop singer Joey Yung, left, posted a tribute to Bangkok bomb victim Wing Yan 'Vivian' Chan, right, of the two of them together
Michelle Lou, Harrow International School pupil, told SCMP she was shocked after recently learning of her schoolmate's death.
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."
A Facebook tribute page has been set up for Vivian where one individual - Sophia Hui - close to the student said she was "in utter shock".
"You were such a cheerful person and had one of the greatest smiles that I have seen. We, the Huis, are saddened with the loss. I remember we used to talk after the music concert, whilst I was waiting for Victor. I still can't believe this is real...RIP Vivian. You will always be remembered."
13.16
More from the Foreign Secretary:
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.
"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."
13.11
BREAKING: A British national was killed in the attack on the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has confirmed.
13.03
12.38
The man in the security video wearing a yellow T-shirt and carrying a backpack is believed to have set off the explosion, Associated Press reports.
"The yellow shirt guy is not just the suspect. He is the bomber," Police Lt Gen Prawut Thavornsiri told The Associated Press.
11.34
Some experts are casting doubt on whether it was in the interests of the anti-junta groups to have carried out yesterday's attack, saying that it would alienate many of their supports.
Even if they are hell-bent on bringing down the government I just can't see them targeting a Hindu or any other religious shrine,"Zachary Abuza, an independent expert on Thai security, told AFP.
11.11
Sansern Kaewkamnerd, deputy government spokesman, released the following list of the nationalities of the 20 people killed by Monday night's blast.
Thai: 5
Malaysian: 2
Chinese: 2
Hong Kong: 2
Singaporean: 1
Unknown nationality: 8
10.44
The Thai prime minister has given his first televised address since the blast and promised that the government will expedite "all investigative efforts to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
Prayuth Chan-ocha provided no details on suspects or how the investigation was going but told foreigners living in the country that the government would do its best to safeguard their security, property and interests.
10.30
Google in Thailand has paid tribute to the victims of yesterday's attack with a small candle on the website's Thai homepage.
(H/T Independent)
10.07
An explosive device was thrown near Bangkok rail station but there have been no injuries, say police, AFP reports.
"No one was killed or injured. Police are at the scene to investigate what kind of device it was," an officer at Yanawa police station, who asked not to be named, told AFP.
He said the incident took place shortly after 1pm (0600 GMT) near the Saphan Taksin BTS skytrain station.
09.35
Another bomb has exploded and Bangkok is a city on edge at the moment, writes Philip Sherwell in Bangkok.
A grenade or other explosive device has just been thrown from a bridge across the busy Chao Praya river, narrowly missing a boat and pier and exploding in the water. CCTV footage shows people running in terror from a huge splash of river water, but there were no injuries.
Sathorn pier, a short distance from the up-market Shangr-La hotel, is a popular starting point for tourists taking river trips as well as locals who use motor boats along the Chao Praya for commuter trips.
Although it is not clear if there is any connection to Monday’s Erewan shrine bombing, this second blast also took place at an packed with international tourists and locals alike. There are ominous signs that this could be the start of an orchestrated campaign targeting prime tourist and commercial areas.
09.28
Hong Kong authorities are warning residents to avoid travel to Bangkok as they gave the city a red alert - second highest of the government's three-tier system. Two of its citizens were killed.
However, the Australian prime minister stressed that his citizens should continue to visit Thailand.
"Residents intending to visit (Bangkok)... should adjust their travel plans and avoid non-essential travel, including leisure travel," a government spokesman said in a statement.
"Those already there should pay attention to announcements by local authorities, attend to their personal safety and avoid areas affected by the explosion."
But in Australia, Tony Abbott urged his fellow citizens to not be intimidated by extremism.
"Australians should continue to go to Thailand because the object of the sorts of people who let off bombs in crowded cities is to scare us from being ourselves and we should never be intimidated by that," said Mr Abbott.
09.22
Chilling CCTV video footage has emerged of the main suspect in the Bangkok shrine bomb blast leaving a large backpack next to the railings at the spot where shortly afterwards a huge explosion ripped through tourists and locals, writes Philip Sherwell in Bangkok.
The young man sits down calmly, another figure among the crowds milling around the Erewan shrine at one of the city’s busiest intersections. He calmly eases the black bag off his back, first from one shoulder and then the other.
Unnoticed during the rush hour crush on Monday evening, he then stands up and appears to look into his mobile phone or take a photograph. Near him, people are taking photographs of the Hindu shrine that is renowned for bringing good fortune.
He then walks away, stopping another time to use his phone. Different cameras track him as heads away from the scene down the busy streets, all the time clutching a plastic bag as he walks, glancing frequently at his phone.
He is wearing a patterned yellow T-shirt, long blue shorts and has a mop of black unruly hair and thick dark glasses. Thai media have referred to him as a foreigner or having foreign looks, while others have wondered if he is wearing a wig or fake glasses.
The man then walks out of sight of the cameras. Shortly afterwards, a bomb ripped through unsuspecting crowds.
Thai police have said that the man shown in the images is a key “suspect” as they investigate the worst terrorist attack in Bangkok’s history.
09.06
BREAKING: Small explosive thrown from bridge over a river in central Bangkok. No reports of injuries, a police office at the scene said, according to Reuters.
08.49
Clean-up workers are now hosing down the blood and debris from the road junction next to the bomb site at the Erewan shrine, Philip Sherwell writes.
The intersection, one of the busiest in Bangkok, was littered with blood, body parts, debris and the scorched remnants of passing motorcycles after the blast. Forensic investigators and police are still working at the fenced area inside the open-air shrine where the bomb was planted.
08.31
Somyot Poompanmuang, the country’s police chief, has confirmed to the Thai PBS network that a young man seen on images taken from CCTV footage at the scene just before the blast is “a real bombing suspect”, writes Philip Sherwell in Bangkok.
The footage showed the man, with a mob of dark hair and glasses, first wearing a backpack across his shoulder, but then walking without the bag. The images had circulated widely on Thai social media.
Thai police have released these CCTV frames of a suspect in the Bangkok bombing Photo: Nicholas Razzell
Prawuth Thawornsiri, Royal Thai Police spokesman, told the Khaosod website that the man is officially a suspect in the attack. The man, who was wearing a yellow T-shirt, arrived at the scene in a motorised three-wheeler tuk-tuk and left on then back of a motorcycle taxi, he said.
"He travelled alone,” he said. “He arrived at the crime scene, the Ratchaprasong intersection and the shrine, by tuk-tuk. Then he left the crime scene by a motorcycle taxi."
Mr Prawuth appealed for anyone who saw him to come forward with information as they search for the bomber who planted the device.
Thai police have released these CCTV frames of a suspect in the Bangkok bombing Photo: Nicholas Razzell
07.17
The central Bangkok intersection where the bomb exploded has been reopened to traffic, 17 hours after the attack, Associated Press reports.
07.00
AFP report that police have now revised their figure for those killed to 20, revising down an earlier toll of 21 dead.
The office of Prawut Thavornsiri, a police spokesman, also provided a breakdown of some of the nationalities of those killed.
Among the dead are two Chinese, two Hong Kongers, two Malaysians, one Singaporean, an Indonesian and five Thais.
The other victims have yet to be identified.
This is the moment a tourist captures mobile phone footage of the bomb exploding in Bangkok
06.48
Thailand's baht currency slumped to a more than six-year low on Tuesday and shares fell in Bangkok over concerns the attack could damage the tourism sector.
05.45
Genelia D’Souza, a Bollywood star, has tweeted to let her legions of fans know she is safe. She was in Bangkok with her husband, Riteish Deshmukh, to shoot an advert. They were not far from the blast when it happened.
05.33
More from Payuth Chan-ocha, who says the bomb was the worst incident in Thailand, and one designed to scare away tourists.
This is the worst incident that has ever happened in Thailand. There have been minor bombs or just noise, but this time they aim for innocent lives. They want to destroy our economy, our tourism.
04.49
The tally of foreign tourists killed by the blast now stands at seven, Thai police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri has told AFP. According to his office, two Chinese citizens from the mainland, two people from Hong Kong, two Malaysians and a Singaporean have been confirmed among a death toll of 21 at this stage.
Five Thais have been confirmed killed, while the other nine victims have not yet been identified. Investigators have been having trouble establishing the exact number of dead as victims were torn apart so horrendously that they are still trying to match body parts.
The wounded come from Thailand, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Oman, the Philippines and Singapore.
The revised list of nationalities reflects the popularity of the shrine with visitors from across East Asia and particularly Chinese communities.
04.40
Prayet Chan-ocha speaking earlier this year Photo: REUTERS
The head of Thailand's junta now says a suspect has been identified from CCTV footage. Prayut Chan-ocha said he was believed to be from an anti-government group based in Thailand's north-east, where the anti-coup Red Shirt movement is based, according to AFP.
Today there is a suspect who appeared on CCTV but it's not clear... we are looking for this guy.
03.50
Thai authorities are dropping heavy hints that their investigation is making progress. Perhaps we will soon have more details of who they believe was responsible. This is what Prawit Wongsuwan, the defence minister, said a few minutes ago, according to AP:
It is much clearer who the bombers are, but I can't reveal right now. We have suspects. There are not many people.
03.15
It sounds as if the death toll will rise further. Authorities have a particularly tough job ahead of them.
02.01
Here are the front pages of some of Bangkok's national newspapers:
01.57
The death toll from a bomb blast in the Thai capital rose to 21 on Tuesday with 123 wounded, police said, with two Hong Kong tourists among those killed in the attack on a popular religious shrine.
"The death toll is now 21," police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri told AFP, adding 123 people were wounded.
"The bomb aimed at killing as many people as possible as the shrine is crowded at around 6 to 7 pm," he said of the Monday evening attack.
Authorities said earlier that the blast at the Erawan shrine in downtown Bangkok killed 10 Thais as well as at least one Chinese national and a Filipino citizen. The nationalities of the other people who died were not immediately clear.
Hong Kong's immigration department said Tuesday that it had "confirmed that two Hong Kong residents deceased in the incident" with six others injured and sent to hospital for treatment.
00.48
The bomb blast did "not match" the tactics used by separatist rebels in Thailand's south, the country's army chief has said.
"This does not match with incidents in southern Thailand. The type of bomb used is also not in keeping with the south," Royal Thai Army chief and deputy defence minister General Udomdej Sitabutr said in a televised interview.
No group has claimed responsibility for the blast on Monday evening, which left scores wounded, and officials in Thailand have yet to blame any group.
Thailand's three southernmost provinces are home to a long-running Muslim separatist insurgency. Since 2004, more than 6,500 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in violence in the region.
The violence has rarely spilled over beyond those provinces.
23.02
Joshua Kurlantzick, senior fellow for south east Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations, told The Telegraph's Raziye Akkoc that this attack would cause more instability.
Mr Kurlantzick said it was impossible to say for sure who might be responsible but added:
A guess would be anti-government (i.e, anti-junta) groups, since the political temperature has been rising, and the junta has only been able to keep large-scale protests from breaking out through quite draconian suppression.
It is unlikely to be militants from southern Thailand; they have been fighting an insurgency for years and never really attempted to make serious attacks into Bangkok.
This attack is likely to just cause more instability; the junta may crack down harder, but ultimately they have to allow the charter to move forward and the election to proceed.
22.20
Telegraph video showing footage from immediately after the Bangkok bomb blasts:
22.18
21.03
Holger Siegle, a German who said he and his newly wed wife had chosen Thailand because it seemed safe, tells AP:
We didn't think anything like this could happen in Bangkok. Our honeymoon and our vacation will go on, but with a very unsafe feeling.
A distressed man talks into his mobile phone after a large explosion rocked the central Bangkok intersection Photo: AP
20.01
Here is a summary of what we know so far about the bomb that exploded today in central Bangkok:
• At least 19 people including three foreign tourists have died and more than 80 have been injured after a bomb exploded in the heart of central Bangkok
• The device detonated soon after 7pm local time at the Erawan Shrine, one of the Thai capital’s holiest shrines
• CCTV footage of the blast showed rush hour traffic engulfed in a fireball and terrified pedestrians fleeing for their lives
• Most of those killed are believed to be locals and Chinese tourists
• No one has claimed responsibility for the bomb, which may also devastate Thailand's tourism industry
18.49
Sonia Gandhi, Congress president in India, offered her condolences and expressed shock at the tragedy today.
In the wake of a bomb explosion in central Bangkok, the Telegraph speaks to Thailand correspondent Tom Vater about who might be responsible for the attack
18.32
Without anyone claiming ownership, it is difficult to lay suspicions at the doorstep of any particular group, writes Damon Perry, a PhD student who is in Bangkok.
It is worth noting, however, that Thailand’s military has ruled the country since May 2014, when it ousted an elected government after months of anti-government protests. In February of this year, possibly in protest against the junta, two pipe bombs exploded outside a luxury shopping mall in the same area. No one was hurt and no one claimed responsibility, but the timing was significant. Just a month previously, a national assembly hand-picked by the junta ruled that the former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra could not enter politics for five years.
She is seen by her supporters – the ‘red shirts’ – as a champion of the rural poor undemocratically ousted from power. She is seen by her critics – particularly the ‘yellow shirts’ – as a puppet for her self-exiled brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted from office in 2006 due to corruption allegations. The division between these two factions runs deep in Thai society and the army’s control of Thailand has merely plastered over the crack rather than healed it. The attack on Monday may well have been related to this political struggle, though it is hard to imagine how either side would gain from targeting civilians, particularly in a touristic area.
Thai soldiers inspect the scene Photo: PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL/AFP
Thailand has also been struggling with an insurgency in its predominantly-Muslim ‘Deep South’. The insurgent groups, the most powerful of which is the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), seek autonomy in Thailand's three southern border provinces—Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala. Whilst the fighting has mostly been contained in these provinces, this changed in in March 2012, when a series of bombs killed three people at a shopping complex in the predominantly Buddhist city of Hat Yai in Songkhla province.
Eleven others were killed in co-ordinated blasts across the rest of the region. In December 2013, in the Sadao district of Songkhla, several bombs exploded, wounding 27, and several others were defused. On the same day, a bomb big enough to destroy a 10-storey building was discovered and defused in Phuket.
For some analysts, these attacks marked a clear expansion of the insurgents' target zone within Thailand. Others denied there was a deliberate shift in strategy, noting the lack of subsequent attacks outside the Deep South. Monday’s attack is bound to raise the question as to whether Islamic insurgents have resumed and amplified this strategy. What may strengthen suspicions along these lines is the fact that since the junta seized power, peace talks between the insurgents, led by BRN, and the Thai government, have stalled. The last talks between the two sides occurred in December 2013, when Shinawatra was in office.
Scene of the explosion near Erawan Shrine at Ratchaprasong in Central Bangkok Photo: Twitter/@RichardBarrow
18.12
Damon Perry in Bangkok says local media reports many of the injured were tourists from China and Taiwan.
Appeals for Chinese translators made at the police hospital where many of the injured were taken, seemed to confirm these reports. All UN agencies, of which there are many in Bangkok, were requested to conduct a “100 per cent staff check”.
Initially, it was unclear whether the blast was from an exploding gas tank or a bomb. Subsequent speculations that a bomb had been placed on a motorbike, causing several passing cars to explode, have now been put aside after government officials stated that a TNT bomb was placed under a bench at the intersection.
According to local media, the police found several unexploded devices were in the nearby area. One of them was reportedly detonated.
Thai officials have stated that a state of emergency will not be declared. But all 438 schools administered by the Bangkok Municipal Authority will be closed.
17.40
Dr Michael Buehler, an expert in Asian politics at SOAS University of London, said it was unlikely the bomb was planted by insurgents in the south.
I think it is very difficult at this point to know who is behind this, but what I find problematic are the claims this came from the insurgents in the south. I think this is to do with national politics; if you look at past incidents involving bomb attacks, it is always in the context of rifts between red shirts and yellow shirts, rather than conflict in the south.
"The insurgents there have no history of attacks like this outside that area and it is not clear why they would change their tactics."
Thailand's red and yellow shirts are two bitterly divided camps that have sporadically driven protests in the country. Red shirts began as a group in support of deposed Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted as prime minister in 2006.
The yellow shirts were opposed to Mr Thaksin and led protests which are said to have led to him being deposed.
17.25
Anusit Kunakorn, secretary of the National Security Council, said the prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the former army chief, was closely monitoring the situation, AP reports.
"We still don't know for sure who did this and why," Prawit Wongsuwon, the deputy prime minister, told reporters. "We are not sure if it is politically motivated, but they aim to harm our economy and we will hunt them down."
17.23
Frances Geoghegan, a senior tour operator that offers packages to Thailand, predicts the bombing will cause a substantial drop in prices at the city's "uber luxury" hotels.
It has been suggested that one of the perpetrators' motives for attacking the renowned Erawan shrine was to cripple Thailand's tourism industry.
It was a huge shock. As someone who has visited Bangkok many times, it's something I would never expect or fear. Whilst there have been isolated incidents in the south of the country in the past, bombings such as this in Bangkok are very rare. Although Bangkok is a big hub for south east Asia, there are now so many alternative ways of accessing the popular beach areas of Thailand without transiting Bangkok (eg via Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and the Middle East ), that I don't believe it will impact greatly on tourism in the long term to Thailand as a destination.
However in the short term I think it will greatly affect the traditional stopover traffic to Bangkok. You could argue that there is now never going to be a safer time to visit the city, and I would envisage that many of the cities' uber-luxurious hotels may well slash their rates accordingly.
It's noticeable already that extra security has been put in place at some of the cities major hotels.
17.14
Further details are emerging about the Erawan shrine at the heart of the Bangkok attack.
It is said to be deeply meaningful both politically and religiously for the Thai people and features a statue of Phra Phrom, the Thai represenation of Brahma, the Hindu God of creation.
The shrine is also relatively new, built in 1956 in a bid to ward off bad karma which may have been caused by the construction of the Erawan Hotel. The troubled project saw spiralling costs, worker injuries and a mysterious loss of building materials.
16.45
David Blair, the Telegraph's Chief Foreign Correspondent, says the explosion is one of the most mysterious and asks whether one of Thailand’s rival political factions might have organised the blast.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for planting the bomb that inflicted such bloodshed upon central Bangkok. Whoever was behind the atrocity probably intended to kill foreign tourists - but for now, little more can be said.
There are three broad possibilities for who might have been responsible. The first is that terrorists from al-Qaeda or, more remotely, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) might have detonated the bomb. Bangkok is far outside their normal theatre of operations, but that fact would magnify the psychological impact of any successful attack. If your sole aim is to kill Westerners, moreover, then Thailand’s capital might serve as relatively soft target.
But this still looks like a remote possibility for one reason: if al-Qaeda or Isil had bombed Bangkok, they would have every reason to claim responsibility. Either group would seize the moment to broadcast an attack they would view as a resounding success. The absence of any such announcement means the finger of suspicion must point elsewhere.
A member of the bomb squad in protective suit talks to a colleague near the Erawan Shrine Photo: EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT
A second possibility is that Thailand’s own extremists might have been responsible. Radical Islamists have waged a low-level guerrilla war in the southern states for many years. If these insurgents were behind the bombs in Bangkok, however, this would mark a profound change from their usual modus operandi. In the past, they have generally confined their attacks to the south. If Thailand’s Islamists have suddenly decided to plant bombs in Bangkok, they would also have every reason to claim responsibility for any such escalation.
A third possibility is that one of Thailand’s rival political factions might have organised the blast. The country is ruled by a military regime which overthrew an elected government last year. But there is no apparent explanation for why a Thai political movement might want to target foreigners, particularly when tourism is so vital for the economy.
For now, this explosion must rank as one of the most mysterious in recent history.
16.21
Briton Lucinda-Jane Chastain told Sky News how the whole building shook in Bangkok when the explosion took place.
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. It's the last place in the world you'd expect something like this to happen."
Prayuth Chan-ocha, the prime minister, has reportedly said the government would form a "war room" to consider its response.
A lady cries as she searches for a missing person at the sight of the blast at the Erawan Shrine, Bangkok Photo: EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
16.14
The Telegraph's James Rothwell has been contacting experts including Lee Jones, an expert in Asian affairs at Queen Mary University, who said it was extremely rare for bomb attacks to occur outside of southern Thailand.
Most of the bombings that would happen in the past did so in the far south where there is an active Muslim insurgency against the Thai government.
"There have been small scale attacks [in Bangkok] but they are more to do with with the political struggle in Thailand. If this bombing was also political then it shows a clear escalation in the scale of violence.
"That particular intersection was once part of a red shirt encampment that was bloodily suppressed in 2010, with a loss of 90 lives, so it is possible it could be linked to that.
"If the Thai police are saying the bomb was targeting foreigners then I would say to take that with a pinch of salt, as in my view there is a political element here and they will be trying to draw international help and attention to their cause."
16.06
Our reporter in Bangkok, David Eimer, says that he has been to the nearest hospital, very close to the shrine.
Over 60 injured were but there were no Westerners: Chinese, Singaporean, Filipino, Malay and Thai of course. However, there have been casualties taken to other hospitals as well."
Thai police confirm Chinese and Filipino individuals are among the dead.
15.55
Philip Sherwell, The Telegraph's Asia Editor, said the target of the attack could not have been more symbolic as he explains what the possible scenarios behind the attack could have been.
The target for the bombing could not be more symbolic or easy to attack. The Erewan shrine is one of the most popular in Thailand and sits in the heart of Bangkok’s busiest commercial district amid upmarket tourist and business hotels and shopping malls.
It is located next to a five-star hotel and always packed with both locals and tourists – Western and Chinese - seeking blessings and good fortune. The shrine attracts more visitors than any other religious site in the country.
That means it could be a target for any group wishing to bring terror and inflict chaos in the heart of the capital of the military-run country.
Erawan Shrine, a popular tourist attraction Photo: AP/FOTOLIA
There are various possible scenarios for the horrific attack, but no immediate indications of responsibility.
• The area was at the heart of long-running protests between rival groups of protesters who paralysed the country before the army staged a coup last year.
The junta overthrew the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra, leader of a populist government that enjoyed strong support with the country’s rural poor but was fiercely opposed by many members of the urban middle-classes.
Her brother Thaksin Shinawatra, a telecommunications magnate, was deposed in a 2006 coup and lives in exile. The siblings still have a devoted following who are angered that the junta has clung to power despite earlier promises to hold elections.
Two home-made pipe-bombs exploded at a nearby upmarket shopping mall in February, causing minor injuries. The authorities at the time said they believe the devices were intended to cause panic rather than claim lives.
There were no claims of responsibility, but those blasts were thought to be related to the country’s political stalemate.
The country is also preparing for a challenging royal succession after King Bhumipol Adulyadej, the revered but ailing monarch, dies.
• Thailand has a long-running Muslim insurgency in the southern provinces bordering Malaysia. But although the rebels have staged regular attacks on army outposts and Buddhist monks, they have usually do not commit attacks outside the south or against tourist targets.
An atrocity such as this one in Bangkok – targeting a shrine that is Hindu but revered by Buddhists - would be a horrendous escalation of their campaign.
• Bangkok is also a major gateway city for visitors from Islamic countries and has been used as a transit point for south-east Asian Islamic radicals in the past. It has not previously been the target of a major Islamic terror attack, but security experts have long feared that it could be a “soft target” for an outrage such as the 2002 Bali bombings that claimed 202 lives in the tourist centre of Kuta.
15.34
Arglit Boonyai, Thailand News Correspondent for Channel NewsAsia, says two remaining bombs have been defused after officials and sniffer dogs were brought in.
Reports suggest two Chinese individuals and a Filipino are among the dead.
"The perpetrators intended to destroy the economy and tourism because the incident occurred in the heart of the tourism district," Prawit Wongsuwan, defence minister, told Reuters.
15.21
Four foreigners are among the 27 dead, Reuters reports.
The Nation television said 27 had been killed in the blast at the Erawan Hindu shrine, and other media said at least three foreigners were among them. Most of the injured were tourists from China and Taiwan, media said.
A policeman photographs debris following the explosion Photo: Mark Baker/AP
15.14
Tom Vater, Telegraph Travel's Bangkok expert, who resides in the city, said the attack hit the city at its very heart.
The bomb detonated at Ratchaprasong intersection, right in the heart of downtown Bangkok, an area crammed with high end hotels and shopping malls and the well known Erawan shrine, a popular Buddhist shrine, both with locals and tourists.
"The civil war that has been on going in the country's south has never touched on Bangkok. And since the coup in May 2014 there has been little violent opposition to the military junta. In February, two small bombs exploded in front of the Siam Paragon shopping centre but there were no casualties. In the wake of these explosions, security was tightened but today's blast was far worse, both in size and impact.
"With at least 15 dead and many injured and a scene of carnage around one of the country's most sacred places, in one of the areas most frequented by foreign visitors, it is likely that this disastrous event will have longer term consequences for Bangkok."
"Whether Thailand's teflon image as the Land of Smiles will win the day once the dust has settled remains to be seen. To some extent it will depend on whether the culprits are caught and which group opposed to military rule they belong to. The blast may also lead to more tightened security and a bigger military presence on the streets which may in turn affect tourism."
15.08
David Eimer who was at the scene for the Telegraph has been told by a policeman that a woman planted a bomb in a bush, not a motorcycle bomb as previously reported.
All the victims were either inside or very close to the temple. The policeman said foreigners and local Thais were among the victims."
This links with the comments made by Thailand's defence minister, who said bombers had targeted "foreigners" to try to damage the vital tourist industry.
"It was a TNT bomb... the people who did it targeted foreigners and to damage tourism and the economy," Prawit Wongsuwong said.
A Thai soldier ropes off the scene after a bomb exploded Photo: AFP
14.52
The British Foreign Office has tweeted a link to their guidance for travel to Thailand.
Readers are told that the British Embassy is monitoring the situation. "You should monitor news reports and take extra care."
There is a high threat from terrorism. On 1 February there were 2 explosions at the Siam station of Bangkok’s Skytrain (BTS) system, near the entrance to the Siam Paragon shopping mall. One person was injured.
British nationals make over 900,000 visits to Thailand every year. Most visits are trouble-free, but there have been attacks (sometimes violent), particularly on the islands of Samui archipelago.
Meanwhile, Oliver Smith, provides some context about previous terrorist attacks in the last fice years.
Previous terrorist attacks in the country include two bombings at night markets in Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand, in 2010, and a series of explosions in Bangkok in 2012 that injured five, which Thai authorities said were a failed attempt by Iranian nationals to assassinate Israeli diplomats.
"In February 2015 two small explosions injured one person near the entrance to the Sian Paragon shopping mall, some 500 metres from the site of today’s bombing."
Thai rescue workers carry an injured person after a bomb exploded outside a religious shrine Photo: PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL/AFP
14.42
There are reports that among the casualties could be foreign tourists. Some media reports suggest the death toll has reached 15 but this is unconfirmed.
Although we are not yet aware of the details of the attack, no group or individual has claimed it.
The bomb exploded at the Ratchaprasong intersection in a busy shopping district and close to the Erawan Shrine, a popular tourist attraction, Oliver Smith reports.
Several major hotel chains have branches in the vicinity, including Holiday Inn, InterContinental, Renaissance and Grand Hyatt. Lumphini Park, Bangkok’s only bit of green space, lies a few blocks to the south.
Emergency services attend to a bloodied man laying at the Ratchaprasong intersection Photo: Demotix
14.26
Oliver Smith, Telegraph Travel's Digital Editor, warns that the timing is bad for the country's tourism industry.
"The explosion is likely to raise concerns about the safety of tourists in the city and the timing is particularly bad for Thailand's tourism industry. The country is popular among backpackers and winter sun seekers, and the bombing comes as many Britons are returning from their summer holidays and starting to think about a winter break.
"A-Level results have also just been announced and thousands of students are planning their gap years."
14.15
There have been unconfirmed reports of a second bomb near the explosion site. A bomb squad is said to be in the process of deactivating it, Singapore newspaper The Straits Times reported.
14.14
Some political context via Associated Press.
Bangkok has been relatively peaceful since a military coup ousted a civilian government in May last year after several months of sometime violent political protests against the previous government.
However, there has been some tension in recent months 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.
Car bombs are almost unknown in Bangkok, but have been used in southern Thailand, where a Muslim separatist insurgency has been flaring for several years.
Bodies covered by white sheets lie next to the popular Erawan shrine Photo: Demotix
14.09
Although there are reports and confirmation by officials that 12 people were killed.
There are some officials saying the number killed remain 10.
"As far as I know there are more than 10 people dead, many injured. Our initial findings are it is a bomb inside the shrine," Chakthip Chijinda told Channel 9 television, AFP reports.
14.06
Jonathan Head, BBC's South Asia correspondent, has said on BBC News that usually attacks are "almost exclusively in the south and the targets are never tourist areas.
"Nothing [has happened] on this scale, it's just awful. The injuries were catastropic - that is a very specific target in a very strategic area. The shrine is a very sacred one."
14.00
This video appears to show the moment of the blast. In the video, the shock and dramatic moment are clearly visible. Thai police say the bomb was a motorcycle bomb.
13.52
This is the Ratchaprasong intersection, where the explosion took place. Two shopping centres on each side - the Central World Plaza and the Gaysorn centre.
Reuters reports the death toll has reached 12, according to police and rescue workers.
The grim scene has been described by several journalists and witnesses including an Associated Press reporter who said he saw one body and body parts, and two people taken into ambulances.
13.51
Jonathan Head, a BBC correspondent at the scene, said there was a "huge amount of chaos, with body parts scattered everywhere".
Some more detail via AFP about the shrine and area.
The Erawan is an enormously popular shrine to the Hindu god Brahma but is visited by thousands of Buddhist devotees every day.
It is located on a main road through Bangkok's commercial hub and is surrounded by three major shopping malls.
13.42
According to Reuters, local media are reporting that five people have been killed and 20 wounded. Police and ambulances rushed to the scene after the bomb went off around 7pm (1pm BST) local time.
One individual, whom my colleague Louise Burke has found, is live-streaming the blast's aftermath here on Periscope.
13.41
The incident took place at Ratchaprasong, which is the name of an intersection and shopping centre in the Pathum Wan district of Bankok.
One of its major attractions is the Erawan shrine, which is said to attract more tourists than any other temple in the city.
13.38
Hello and welcome to the Telegraph's live coverage of the explosion in Bangkok which has killed two people in the capital's central Chidlom district.
This is what we know so far: A bomb exploded outside a religious shrine in central Bangkok late on Monday, killing at least two people and wounding scores more, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.
Body parts were scattered across the street after the bomb went off outside the Erawan Shrine in the downtown Chidlom district of the Thai capital.
"I can confirm it was a bomb, we can't tell which kind yet, we are checking," national police spokesman Lietenant General Prawut Thavornsiri told AFP
