Explosion in Bangkok

Bangkok explosion: 'There were people alive under bodies'

Radio NZ,

18 August, 2015

A New Zealand man living in Thailand who was one of the first to arrive at the scene of a deadly explosion in Bangkok has described the carnage caused by the attack.

At least 19 people were killed and scores wounded in the bomb explosion late on Monday at a Hindu shrine crowded with worshippers and tourists.

Marko Cunningham, 47, who is originally from Upper Hutt, works as a teacher by day and a volunteer for the Bangkok Free Ambulance service at night, and said he arrived at the shrine to find a "horrific scene".

"I walked into the shrine, which is an open shrine, and there were just bodies everywhere, just everywhere. I was kind of in shock," he told Morning Report.

Listen to Marko Cunningham on Morning Report ( 7 min 53 sec )

"Somebody said a bomb went off. So then me and 10 other guys started going through the bodies finding out who was alive and who wasn't and then administering first aid to those that... still had pulses, and by that time the ambulances started arriving and we were just triaging them into the ambulances.

"There were people still alive under other people," he said. "We were just taking bodies off people who were still live."

Rescue workers carry one of the injured from the scene of the explosion.

Photo: AFP

The Erawan Shrine, on a busy corner near top hotels, shopping centres, offices and a hospital, is a major attraction, especially for visitors from East Asia, including China. Many Thais also worship there.

Police confirmed 19 people were killed, including 10 Thais, one Chinese and one Filipino citizen. More than 120 people were injured.

Soldiers at the scene after a bomb exploded outside a religious shrine in central Bangkok.

Photo: AFP

Scores were wounded in the explosion.

Photo: AFP

No-one has yet said they carried out the attack. Two more bombs in the Thai capital were found before they could explode

The explosion occurred at about 6.30pm local time when the shrine, close to upscale shopping malls, was crowded with people.

Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said the bombers had "targeted foreigners... to damage tourism and the economy".

Photo: AFP

The Bangkok Post quoted police as saying that 3kg of TNT had been stuffed in a pipe inside the shrine and that an electronic circuit suspected to have been used in the attack was found 30 metres from the scene. Other reports said the device planted on a motorbike.

Police checked the area for other devices but no further bombs have been found, the paper said.

Photo: AFP

Police and soldiers at the scene of the deadly explosion.

Photo: AFP

Thailand has endured a decades-long Muslim insurgency but this has been largely confined to the south of the country and attacks rarely take place elsewhere.

But Bangkok has seen a decade of sometimes violent rivalry between political factions.

Occasional small blasts have been blamed on one side or the other. Two pipe bombs exploded outside a luxury shopping mall in the same area in February, but caused little damage. Police said that attack was aimed at raising tension when the city was under martial law.

The military took over ruling the country in May last year, removing an elected government following months of unrest. The capital has been relatively calm since then.

The shrine intersection was the site of months of anti-government protests in 2010 by supporters of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Dozens were killed in a military crackdown and a shopping centre was set ablaze.