On Wednesday morning, a stream of people arrived at the shrine, kneeling in prayer, lighting incense and placing flowers at the site where 36 hours earlier the explosion scattered body parts across one of the capital’s busiest intersections.
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Thailand is seeking help from Interpol to track down a suspect believed to have detonated an explosive at Bangkok’s Erawan Shrine Monday that killed at least 21 people Monday, according to reports Thursday.
Police said one of the two is now known to be a Chinese tourist and the other was his Thai tour guide.
In a television address on Thursday the Mr Suvaree claimed that “security agencies have collaborated with intelligence agencies from a lot of countries and have come to the same preliminary conclusion that the incident is unlikely to be linked to global terrorism”.
“I am confident that there are Thais involved but I am not saying it is just Thais or that there are foreigners”, he said.
The attack left at least 11 foreigners dead, with Chinese, Singaporeans, Indonesians and a family from Malaysia among the victims.
“This blast was carried out by teams…there was a survey team, a protection team, material providing team and exit team”, Somyot told reporters.
Thai authorities released a sketch of the suspect and offered a million Baht (roughly £18,000) for any information related to him.
Meanwhile, Tuk-tuk driver Suchart Pan-ngam, 37, stepped forward this afternoon to answer questions to police who had been searching for him since footage of Monday’s attack showed the lead suspect.
CCTV cameras had captured a man who was seen dumping a backpack and then walking away shortly before the blast which took place at the popular Erawan shrine in the heart of Bangkok.
“This operation was carried out by a big network”, said Royal Thai Police Commissioner General Somyot Poompanmoung.
There has been no claim of responsibility and police have not determined a motive for the worst ever bomb attack in Thailand. It is dedicated to the Hindu god Brahma, but is extremely popular among Thailand’s Buddhists as well as Chinese tourists.
Police spokesman Prawut Thawornsiri also said investigators were now convinced two other men seen on the grainy footage were his accomplices.
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The bomb crater was filled in and the shrine reopened on Wednesday. Details around the two unidentified men have not been released.
