Local television outlets reported that five people were killed and 20 more were wounded in the blast.
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Charred and shattered motorcycles littered the scene, along with broken glass. Weerachon said dozens were injured, and that some foreigners were among the hurt.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bomb, which police said was made from a pipe wrapped in cloth. “This is at the very heart of Bangkok”, Chastain said.
There could be another bomb at the scene, Prawuth said.
Fauzi said, they have yet to confirm whether Malaysians were among the victims and that search and rescue efforts were still ongoing.
Some reports suggest the bomb was inside the shrine, while others say it was on one of six motorcycles seen strewn across the street in the aftermath.
The explosion appears to have gone off in front of the Erawan Shrine, a Hindu shrine that is popular with tourists and locals.
A BBC correspondent at the scene said there are “body parts scattered everywhere” and a crater left at the sight of the bombing.
Authorities stepped up security checks at some major city intersections and in tourist areas.
Florian Witulski, a German video journalist based in Bangkok, said the police had found several more bombs in a “nearby taxi”.
“The Thai capital has been fairly peaceful since the military deposed a democratically elected government in May 2014, after months of sometimes violent protest against that government”.
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Stirring the pot has been former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and fled the country to avoid a corruption conviction.
