Deadly bomb blast rocks popular Bangkok tourist area, killing at least 19

The death toll of a major explosion in central Bangkok has risen to 22, as the Thai capital wakes to a new day following the bomb blast.

A pipe bomb was detonated at the popular Erawan Shrine, located near five-star hotels, shopping malls, a hospital and offices.

An NZME News Service reporter has today returned to the scene of last night's explosion and said it was bustling again.

Heavy traffic was moving in every direction and pedestrians were out and about walking the streets.

One lane of traffic was still blocked off and 10 policemen with helmets and vests were helping direct traffic and get pedestrians across the street.

The eerie quietness of the area last night was gone.

Despite the extra activity, local resident Nonthiphat Pakvipasthawat said the area was normally busier than it was today.

"Normally there's lots more traffic and chaos," he said. "The school down the road is closed today so maybe that's why there isn't so many people.

"I walk down this road every day to go the gym ... luckily I didn't go to the gym last night."

He heard about the bombings on the television news. "I didn't hear the explosions so when I saw the reporting, I didn't think it was real. It's heartbreaking."

No one has taken responsibility for the bomb blast, but a woman was reportedly seen placing a bag inside the Erawan Shrine.

The New York Times reported that police were said to be treating the woman, who was overheard speaking in Thai, as a possible suspect after she allegedly left a bag in the Erawan shrine just minutes before it was decimated by a bomb at around 7pm local time last night.

So far the death toll stands at 22 and 123 people injured, a Thai police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri confirmed to AFP.

The Bangkok Post quoted police as saying that the bomb was left inside the shrine and an electronic circuit suspected to have been used in the attack later found 30 yards away.

Four foreigners are believed to be among those killed in the attack, which the Thai government claims was designed to damage the country's vital tourist industry.

Many victims were probably visiting the Erawan Shrine or several shopping centres in the area when the attack took place.

Security video showed a powerful flash as the bomb exploded and then chaos as those that were able to ran for their lives while others began tending to the wounded.

Thai officials have yet to blame any group for the attack and the country's army chief said the bombing did not match the tactics used by insurgents in Thailand's south.

Royal Thai Army chief and deputy defence minister General Udomdej Sitabutr said in a televised interview: "This does not match with incidents in southern Thailand. The type of bomb used is also not in keeping with the south."

The speculation came as Kiwis awaited news their loved ones in Bangkok are safe.

Prime Minister John Key said the bombing was "a very deplorable action" that New Zealand condemned.

"It is a fairly horrific situation as I understand it, to the best advice I have had there are no New Zealanders at this point that we can identify that have been caught up in the bomb blast.

"There are about 470 Kiwis that we can identify in Thailand at the moment and in Bangkok, so we are doing the best we can to contact them."

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said there was currently no confirmed information on the nationalities of victims and casualties.

"The New Zealand Embassy in Bangkok remains in close contact with the relevant Thai authorities and local hospitals for reports of any New Zealanders who may have been affected by the incident," Mr McCully said, after landing in neighbouring Cambodia for a scheduled visit to mark the 40th anniversary of New Zealand's partnership with ASEAN.

Aucklander Tere Parsons said she still waiting to hear from her 16-year-old son, Haamiora Parsons, who has been in Thailand for about two weeks, and arrived in Bangkok on Wednesday ahead of the international amateur muay Thai kickboxing championships.

According to the tournament's website, this year's Kiwi contingent to the tournament is the biggest ever sent - with more than 35 athletes and 40 supporters.

Mrs Parsons said she had seen a post on the coach of the team's Facebook page saying all was well, though the blast had been close to their hotel.

She said she was trying to remain calm until she heard from her son.

"I heard about the blast at about six this morning, and I thought I was dreaming," she said.

Her son, a pupil at Avondale college, was in good hands on his travels through Thailand, with his coach and a number of parents also with him, she said.

Kiwi teacher Sam Silby, 28, has lived in Bangkok with her husband for two years - she said she was a few stops away from Erawan Shrine on the Skytrain line when the bomb went off.

"I struck with raw heartbreak and numbness for my beautiful city," she said.

In a blog post on the night of the blast, she said she had prayed fiercely for her city.

"What can I say when the city I love more than any other place on this Earth is in tragedy?

"As I sit in the dark, with just one lit candle beside me, and the deafening sound of silence beyond my window, amongst the threatening booms of an oncoming thunderstorm, I'm praying so fiercely for my city."

Ms Silby, who works at an international school in Thong Lor, Bangkok, said she frequently visited the Erawan Shrine area.

She said the city was filled with beautiful people, and was set never to be the same again after the tragedy.

Bomb had 100m "destructive radius"

The Royal Thai Police Office confirmed that of the 19 dead victims, 12 died at the scene.

The described the bomb as an IED and said it was composed of three kilogrammes of TNT stuffed in a pipe and wrapped with white cloth.

The Bangkok Post reported that the bomb's "destructive radius" was estimated at 100 metres. Authorities quickly recovered an electronic circuit suspected to be part of the device about 30 metres from the blast scene.

National police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang rushed to the scene and all 438 city schools were closed for safety reasons, the Bangkok Post reported.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan expressed condolences to the families of the dead and injured victims. He told the Bangkok Postit was too soon to say if the attacks were politically motivated or terrorism.

"But it was clear that the perpetrators intended to destroy the economy and tourism, because it occurred in the heart of (Bangkok's) business district," he said.

He believed whatever the motivation for the attack, the goal was clear - human casualties.

Defence spokesman Kongcheep Tantrawanich described the attack as "the work of those who have lost political interests and want to destroy the 'happy time' of Thai people".

"It's an attempt to ruin Thailand's tourism image and cause damage to the country's business sector,"he said..

"The group behind the bomb must stop the savage act done to their fellow Thais and stop hurting the nation."

American filmmaker Alexander Hotz works in the area of Bangkok where the bomb went off.

"It sounded like thunder," he told USA Today.

"We were sitting in the office, and at first we thought it was just an amazingly loud rainstorm coming through. Then one of our Thai interns came back upstairs and told us that things were going crazy."

Canadian Derek Van Pelt has lived in Bangkok for 17 years.

"It was absolute craziness. There was broken glass everywhere, there were body parts everywhere," Van Pelt told Toronto's the Star newspaper in a phone interview from the Thai capital.

He said he saw three motorcycles in the intersection when he arrived and "one of them appeared to still be smoldering."

The Erawan Shrine full of visitors during a typical day. The shrine was the scene of the bombing which killed at least 19 people. Photo / AP

Destroyed motorbikes are pictured at the scene of devastation after a bomb exploded outside a religious shrine in central Bangkok. Photo / Getty Images

A Thai soldier ropes off the scene after a bomb exploded outside a religious shrine in central Bangkok. Photo / Getty Images

Thai rescue workers carry an injured person after a bomb explosion. Photo / Getty Images

Crime scene is seen after a bomb explosion in central Bangkok. Photo / Getty Images

Police investigate the scene at the Erawan Shrine after an explosion in Bangkok,Thailand. Photo / AP

Thai soldiers inspect the scene after a bomb exploded outside a religious shrine in central Bangkok. Photo / Getty Images

Policemen check with sniffer dogs at the scene of the explosion. Photo / Getty Images

International community condemns attack

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a statement after the bomb.

"I strongly condemn the blast in Bangkok. My thoughts are with the families of the deceased. I pray for a speedy recovery of the injured," he said via Twitter.

International media have been tweeting live from the scene.

"Horrific carnage... bodies and injured everywhere," said BBC Asia correspondent Jonathan Head.

"The sight of those terrible injuries after the Bangkok bomb will be with me for a long time. A cruel, calculated attack - but who? and why?"

Reuters chief correspondent in Thailand Amy Siwitta Lefevre last tweeted two hours ago.

"Hours after the explosion streets close to scene of blast quiet/calm. Some tv stations resume normal broadcasting," she said.

Popular tourist destination

The Erawan shrine is dedicated to the Hindu god Brahma, but is extremely popular among Thailand's Buddhists as well as Chinese tourists. Throngs of tourists come there to pray at all hours, lighting incense and offering flowers purchased from rows of stalls set up on the sidewalk along the shrine. The site is a hubbub of activity, with quiet worshippers sometimes flanked by Thai dancers hired by those seeking good fortune, while groups of tourists shuffle in and out.

Police at the scene of the bombing in Bangkok. Photo / Catherine Gaffaney, NZME

In March 2006, the shrine was vandalised by a man who smashed the statue of the four-headed Brahma with a hammer. The man, believed to be mentally ill, was lynched by bystanders. A new Brahma statue was installed at the shrine within months, and was not damaged in the blast.

Brahma is the first god in the Hindu trinity and is said to be the creator of the universe. The other two gods are Vishnu, the preserver, and Shiva, the destroyer. Although Thailand is predominantly Buddhist, it has enormous Hindu influence on its religious practices and language.

-With additional reporting from AP and Bangkok Post

- NZ Herald