Explosion at Bangkok train terminal, 2 injured

Two people were hurt when a small explosion took place at Hua Lamphong train station Wednesday.

The blast happened shortly before noon near a KFC restaurant at the station, prompting police, medical teams and bomb squad members to rush to the scene.

Those injured were identified as Thanong Maisao, 25, and Lamai Uam-gnamsap, 30, both from Udon Thani. They were waiting to board a train to go back to their home province.

They were rushed to Klang Hospital for treatment. A video of the blast shows one sitting in a pool of blood.

Pol Col Boonrawd Angkab, chief of the Railway Police Division's subdivision 1, said one of the men picked up a discarded cough syrup bottle and dropped cigarette ash in it.

Photo Courtesy of the Royal Thai Police

Photo Courtesy of the Royal Thai Police

After the blast, a man suspected of having left the bottle there was questioned at a reception room at the train station, according to Pol Lt Gen Sanit Mahathavorn, acting chief of the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB).

No details were available last night about his professed motive.

A 50-metre radius around the blast spot was cordoned off to prevent the scene being contaminated.

Pol Col Kamthon Ouicharoen, a bomb expert at the MPB, said the bottle contained gunpowder and it was likely a teenager or perhaps a technical student had left it behind.

One of the injured men later used it to deposit cigarette ash, causing the explosion, he added.

Video credit: Hua Lamphong train station CCTV

EARLIER REPORT

A small explosion at Bangkok's Hua Lamphong train station injured two people at 11.56am on Wednesday. The incident was captured on a surveillance camera.

Explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) officers inspecting the area said the blast was caused by a ping-pong bomb, a table tennis ball stuffed with gunpowder.

The two injured men were sent to hospital. They were declared safe.

Police were investigating whether there was a political motive to the bombing.

Published: 12 May 2016