Police said on Wednesday a young man who was caught on grainy security camera footage planting the backpack bomb was believed to be European or Middle Eastern.
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Security footage shows him leaving a black backpack at the shrine about 15 minutes before the explosion.
“From looking at the CCTV footage we think that the yellow shirt man was maybe operating with one or two other people at the scene”, police spokesman Prawut Thavomsiri said, without elaborating.
Police have offered a one million baht ($28,000) reward for information that leads to the arrest of the main suspect.
But, “authorities don’t know whether the man is still in the country”.
Various Islamic militant groups have also carried out many attacks in other parts of Southeast Asia, including bombings on Indonesia s holiday island of Bali in 2002 that killed 202 people.
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha appealed to the suspect to surrender, because “he might get killed to stop him from talking”. Prawut said the explosion at the Sathorn Pier frequented by river ferries and tourist boats also was caused by a pipe bomb and could be related to the shrine attack.
Even though police say at least one foreigner may have been involved in the attack, the operation is unlikely to be linked to worldwide terrorism, Col. Winthai Suvaree, a spokesman for Thailand’s ruling military junta said Thursday.
Somyot did not say who he believed the plotters were, or elaborate on the investigation, but said no possibilities were being ruled out.
Mr Prayuth told reporters the man must have been hired to plant the bomb.
Police spokesperson Prawut Thawornsiri claimed the suspect could be of “mixed origin”.
“We believe there must be people helping him, Thai people”, he said.
Sukhontapatipak also noted that the suspect “did not appear to be Thai”, and his characteristics and movements as shown in the footages were “quite different” from the bombings initiated by southern Thai insurgents.
Earlier, police had said they were sure some Thais were involved in the attack. Nobody has claimed responsibility for either blast.
“I am not afraid of dying but I am afraid others may die with me as my risk is increasing day by day”, he said during an official function at Bangkok.
(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit). A Singaporean who did not want to be identified but said his mother was killed in the bombing pays respects at the Erawan Shrine at Rajprasong intersection in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, August 19, 2015.
Kasem, who has been a Bangkok taxi driver for a little more than two years, said he did not think the unfamiliar language spoken by the man was English.
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The footage showed that two males, dressed in red and white respectively, were standing close to the main suspect who was wearing a yellow T-shirt and glasses.
