The explosion occurred around 7pm (10pm Melbourne and Sydney time) at the Rajprasong intersection. A crater was created on the place of bombing. Witnesses said people at the shrine were hit by the full force of the blast.Burned motorbikes could be seen in the road. The area is usually very crowed and it was a huge explosion. A local hotel was full of injured patients. Soldiers checked later for a second bomb and according unconfirmed sources it was found. Initially, only 12 dead persons were reported. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. The Erawan shrine, is a major tourist attraction, especially for visitors from East Asia. It is popular with Thais. There has been some tension in recent months in Thailand as the ruling junta has made clear it may not hold elections until 2017 and wants a constitution that will allow some type of emergency rule to take the place of an elected government.
