Mr Prayuth said that the people behind the attack had not yet been identified but that the police were investigating one suspect who had been seen on security footage outside the shrine.
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An unidentified man threw a small explosive from a bridge in central Bangkok, Col. Natakit Siriwongtawan, deputy police chief of Klongsan district, reportedly said. Three Chinese were among the dead, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Chinese, Hong Kong, Singaporean, Indonesian and Malaysian citizens were among the 20 people confirmed killed when the explosion sent a fireball into the sky on Monday.
Mairead Campbell said that her hotel was “very close to where the bomb went off”.
Prime minister Prayut Chan-ocha said the suspect was believed to belong to an “anti-government group based in Thailand’s northeast”.
More than 6,500 people have been killed in the southern insurgency since 2004.
“There was a guy crawling next to us who we tried to help… the footpath was covered in blood”.
However, officials said the attack did not match the tactics of Muslim insurgents in the south.
It was detonated at about 19:00 local time (12:00 GMT) on Monday when the shrine, and the busy Ratchaprasong junction where it is located, were crowded. Prayuth on Tuesday vowed to trace down those responsible for the bombing as investigators probed the scene for clues into the incident.
Luxury arcades and shops surrounding the bomb area had some of their windows blown out by the blast. “I saw there were hundreds of medics, police, fire brigades and looking at the ground trying to figure out what happened and if there were any wounded still in the area”. Over 120 people suffered injuries. “Some patients have been discharged but those suffering from trauma or burns remain in hospital”.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, which caused the worst carnage of any single attack in recent memory in the Thai capital. The military took over Thailand in a coup in May 2014.
Schools and banks opened as usual Tuesday morning, and the government insisted that no state of emergency would be declared.
He said: “Whoever planted this bomb is cruel and aimed to kill”.
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Del Rosario added that the Philippines “stands in solidarity with the government and people of Thailand at this trying moment”.
