Bangkok bomb: ‘After the explosion, there was silence’
The bombing of a Bangkok shrine has shaken Thailand. Witnesses to the event have spoken to Al Jazeera.
A bomb blast on Monday tore through a shrine in the commercial centre of the Thai capital, killing at least 20 people and injuring scores.
Journalist Maher Sattar, who was at the scene of the Erawan Shrine shortly after the blast, spoke to some of the people who witnessed the explosion.
| Notes from the field – Maher Sattar |
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Not too long after the blast, the police started to cordon off the area. As I was walking away I saw one of the officers picking up what looked like little cotton pads that were soaked in blood – probably a leftover from someone trying to treat one of the wounded in the aftermath of the blast.
At the spot of the blast there was a motorcycle on the street, blown into at least two pieces. Officials in the area were looking around for more bombs – I kept hearing that more bombs had been found – there were a lot of rumours going around.
Soon, all of the press and passersby gathering in the area had to move further and further away – they were expanding the search area for more bombs – the area was not risk-free.
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Eric Seldin was 100 metres away when the bomb exploded
“I was inside the Hyatt hotel having dinner when we heard an extremely loud explosion near the Ratchaprasong intersection.
The windows were shattered and everyone at the hotel was startled.
Security tried to shut down the hotel and attempted to keep everyone inside but I was able to go out and walk just about 50 metres close to the intersection.
I noticed seven to eight covered bodies. There was damage to the ground of the shrine.
On the street itself there were several casualties. There is a large security presence. Police are moving people back because they are worried about the second explosion.
The area is extremely close to the National Police Headquarters and the police hospital.”
Somrudee Prayunwong, Resident
“We don’t want to think about what will happen next – the death toll has been rising so quickly, we’re afraid to think about how bad it could be.
We live near here. We didn’t think it would be a bomb, we thought something else had happened.”
![Somrudee Prayunwong [Maher Sattar / Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/606570fc39674556aa06b3d92b3ceeed_18.jpeg)
Prayoong Supharot, Motorcycle Taxi Driver
“I heard something that sounded like thunder. But it turned out to be something much worse – something that never should have happened. So a bunch of us motorcycle taxi drivers who were by the intersection went into a hotel nearby to hide.
When we heard there was an explosion we became frightened, and each of us went to find out own hiding spaces.
After the explosion there was silence. Then we all went out to see what had happened. We saw body parts scattered all over – corpses of people… we couldn’t tell what nationalities they were.
At first we saw that five people had died – then it turned out to be more than we had expected. It felt like something that shouldn’t have happened – right in the heart of the city. We don’t know why it happened, but of course everyone is frightened now.”
![Prayoong Supharot [Maher Sattar / Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/4f1fee5943564acca6bc94bf26e83464_18.jpeg)
Malee Roongrueng, Street Vendor
“This doesn’t affect me that much, I’m pretty used to all this – I’ve seen the red shirt protests, I’ve seen bombs in telephone booths.
I was nearby when I heard the blast – I thought it was thunder. Then I walked back and someone told me it was a bomb – I was shocked.”
![Malee Roongrueng [Maher Sattar / Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/3dd3ebe6977d45a7b9f458d95d70e07f_18.jpeg)