String of blasts rock Bangkok on New Years eve
String of blasts rock Bangkok, killing 3
New Year's Eve parties canceled / Rumors point to 'undercurrents' / Police, military out in force around country
Police and military personnel were scrambling to find out who was behind what seems to have been a coordinated bomb attack in the capital last night that left three people dead and more than 40 people injured.
Bangkok was rocked by six explosions early in the evening at widely separate parts of the city, completely disrupting New Year's Eve celebrations. Tens of thousands of alarmed people swarmed out of the city center hours before midnight after the capital's major parties were canceled.
One person was killed and at least 17 injured when a powerful bomb went off at the Victory Monument at about 6.30pm. The blast ripped through bus stops, shattering windows at a restaurant and sent debris flying in all directions. The dead man was identified as Songkran Kanjana. His age was not known.
"Bodies were scattered all over the place. I didn't know who to help first," an eyewitness told TV reporters. The second fatality was Suwitchai Nakiem, 61, who was killed by a blast near the Na Ranong intersection in the Klong Toei area. The bomb, which was hidden in a trash can near a Chinese spirit shrine, injured three pedestrians and caused a number of cooking-gas cylinders kept nearby to also explode.
Two people were injured in a blast at the Saphan Kwai intersection. Witnesses said they saw a man drop a grenade from a pedestrian bridge onto a police booth below. Residue of C4 and TNT explosives were found at the scene, an television reporter said, quoting an unnamed military source.
A bomb was found in a dustbin outside a gold shop on the first floor of Seacon Square shopping mall on Srinakharin Road. It was removed to the parking lot and went off harmlessly when no one was standing near. The blast created panic among the roughly 10,000 shoppers in the mall at the time, who were ordered to evacuate. All outlets in the mall were ordered to close their shutters.
There were blasts at two police booths, one at the Khae Rai intersection in Nonthaburi province just north of Bangkok, where police said the closed circuit TV monitors went out of action about 3 hours before. The other was at the entrance of Sukhumvit Road Soi 62. No injuries were reported.
The explosions brought a swift reaction from police around the country. Military personnel were called out in a number of centres to assist police with security.
Speaking at a press conference called two hours after the first bomb went off, police spokesman Pol General Ajiravid Subarnbhesaj said the coordinated blasts were intended to "create chaos".
Few sources were prepared to comment openly on the source of the explosions. Speculation was rife that it was an insurgent attack from the South, given the timing of the bombings. But most intelligence sources were emphatic that it was connected to the "undercurrents" of post-coup political tension.
Soldiers were posted at some of the blast sites, while major shopping complexes, including the Central Chidlom and Siam Paragon, closed their doors early.
Deputy Bangkok Governor Wallop Suwandee announced that the New Year's eve countdown celebrations planned at Sanam Luang had been cancelled. The Central World Shopping Centre, where another major count-down venue was designated, also canceled the event. But revelers at the Central World plaza were reluctant to call it quits and dragged the party on for another two hours after its cancellation.
Government Spokesman Yongyuth Malyalarp urged the public to remain calm and said the police had been instructed to stay on high alert, especially in areas where large gatherings of people were expected take part in the New Year countdown.
"Police reinforcements have been sent to various areas of the city. We urge the public to remain calm, continue with the celebrations, but at the same time keep a lookout for any irregularities," Yongyuth said.
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont is keeping a close watch on the situation as it develops, he said. Surayud late last night visited some of the wounded at Rajvithi Hospital.
The New Year's eve bombings capped a year of unrest in the nation, with political turmoil that was capped by a coup d'etat three months ago and an ongoing insurgency in the Malay-speaking deep South.
More than 20 public schools, mostly in the North and Northeast, have been torched in the past three months. Authorities suspect fires may have been politically motivated arson attacks.
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