Thai police last evening released a sketch of a young bespectacled “foreign man” who carried out the bombing and is believed to be part of a 10-member network.
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Authorities have offered a one million baht reward for information leading to the arrest of the prime suspect.
But the shrine’s popularity with ethnic Chinese visitors – and the fact that a second attack on Tuesday took place near Bangkok’s Chinatown – has led to speculation the blast may have specifically targeted that demographic.
Burns told a television news channel that he nearly had a panic attack when he saw himself being mistaken by people on social media for the Bangkok bomber.
He said that the situation in the country was “under control” and that the deployment of uniformed and plainclothes police has been increased in nearly every area to provide “utmost safety to people”. It’s better than living in hiding.
He also says others wanted for questioning are people seen in the security footage at the shrine.
Investigators have questioned the motorcycle taxi driver the suspect used after the explosion, Prawut said Wednesday without providing details on what he told them.
Police say they don’t yet know the suspect’s identity or whether he is Thai or a foreigner.
Thai police are offering a reward for information on bombing suspects.
He said the preliminary investigation into the attack showed that the Chinese people were not the target because other nationalities too were hurt.
Images released by Thai police show him in a tuk-tuk near the shrine before the bombing. “If the police have good fortune we might be able to make an arrest but… if the perpetrator has good fortune maybe they can get away”.
The BBC reported the men were captured on security camera footage shortly before Monday’s explosion at Erawan Shrine.
The shrine, located in busy Ratchaprasong commercial district, reopened on Wednesday with prayers by Buddhist monks.
The remains of the four Malaysians are scheduled to be returned to their hometown in Penang state later Wednesday. “It’s a network”.
The main suspect, believed to be a foreigner in a yellow shirt seen depositing a backpack at the scene was still at large, he added.
“It feels so weird to know that so many people have died here and so many have been injured and still laying, trying to fight for their lives”, Danish tourist Maja Brash said. The pipe bomb exploded in the Chao Phraya River but caused no injuries. There must be people who survey the site, people who would cover and look after the bomber.
BPP law student Vivian Chan, 19, was killed in Monday’s blast near the Erawan shrine, a popular tourist attraction in the Thai capital.
Victims’ relatives have been struggling to come to terms with the tragedy, including a Malaysian family that lost four of its members.
Police say two other suspects were also identified in CCTV footage of the blast site.
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Messages posted on a board at the shrine included one in English: “Be strong”.
