Thai police report a 2nd explosion in Bangkok, with no injuries

BANGKOK (AP) – The latest on Monday night’s bombing at a shrine next to a busy central Bangkok intersection:

3:20 p.m.

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha told the nation in a televised address that the government will expedite “all investigative efforts to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice,” but said nothing specific about suspects or the status of the investigation.

He urged the nation to be united and called on the media, traditional and social, to provide constructive news rather than coverage or commentary that would be contentious or have a misleading effect on the investigation.

He promised foreigners living in Thailand that the government would do its best to safeguard their security, property and interests.

Prayut also asked that citizens remain vigilant to any irregular activities.

-Grant Peck in Bangkok

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3 p.m.

A day after Bangkok’s deadly bomb attack there has been a second explosion in the capital, this time at a ferry pier, but no one was hurt, police say.

Police Senior Sgt. Maj. Worapong Boonthawee says an explosive device was thrown from the Taksin Bridge on Tuesday afternoon and blew up at Sathorn Pier after falling into the Chao Phraya River below. “There is no injury,” he says.

Security camera footage shows a sudden blast of water dousing people on a walkway at the pier, as bystanders ran for safety.

-Anusonadisai Nattasuda in Bangkok

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2 p.m.

Deputy government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd released the following list of the nationalities of the 20 people killed by Monday night’s blast:

Thai: 5

Malaysian: 2

Chinese: 2

Hong Kong: 2

Singaporean: 1

Unknown nationality: 8

-Anusonadisai Nattasuda in Bangkok

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12:30 p.m.

The central Bangkok intersection where the bomb went off has been reopened to traffic, some 17 hours after the devastating explosion.

Investigators had spent all night and morning combing through the debris at Rachaprasong intersection, littered with shattered glass and blood stains. Police had closed roads within a few hundred meters (yards) of the intersection, a key and usually congested hub of the capital.

Pedestrians had been able to get closer to the scene, and many took pictures Tuesday morning from behind police tape.

-Leon Drouin-Keith in Bangkok

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11:45 a.m.

Thai officials have raised the death toll to 20 in Monday night’s central Bangkok bombing, and the number injured has risen to 140.

The new numbers come from the Narinthorn emergency medical rescue center, which previously said 18 people had been killed and 117 hurt.

-Anusonadisai Nattasuda in Bangkok

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11:30 a.m.

Hong Kong has raised its travel alert for Bangkok to “red,” advising its travelers to avoid non-essential trips to Thailand.

The Hong Kong government has said two of its residents died in the attack.

-Kelvin Chan in Hong Kong

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11:00 a.m.

Japanese media are reporting that a 31-year-old Japanese man is among the seriously injured. Kota Ando, an employee of East Japan Railway Company, was on his way home from work when the blast happened.

Ando had moved to Bangkok in July. He had been sent by his employer to work in the office of Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co. for up to one year.

Bangkok has a large Japanese expat community, as many Japanese companies have offices and factories in Thailand.

-Ken Moritsugu in Tokyo

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9:45 a.m.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha promised to “hurry and find the bombers.”

“We haven’t concluded who did this, but they definitely are bad people,” he told journalists before a Tuesday morning Cabinet meeting. “No matter what their intentions are, they took lives of innocent people.”

“This is the worst incident that has ever happened in Thailand,” he said. “There have been minor bombs or just noise, but this time they aim for innocent lives. They want to destroy our economy, our tourism.”

“I have seen the footage, we have some suspects but it is not so clear. We have to find them first.”

-Anusonadisai Nattasuda in Bangkok

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9:30 a.m.

A notice on the website of the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok says three Chinese tourists were among the dead from the explosion and more than 20 others had been injured. The Hong Kong government said two of its residents died, and it is not known whether China included those fatalities in its total.

“The Chinese Embassy especially wishes to remind Chinese citizens in Thailand or who are planning to come to Thailand to strengthen awareness of their surroundings, attend to their travel safety and make rational travel plans,” the embassy said.

Chinese tourists, many on cheap package tours, make up the single biggest group of overseas visitors to Thailand, with about 4.6 million arriving last year.

-Christopher Bodeen in Beijing

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8:20 a.m.

Thailand’s defense minister says investigators are getting closer to determining who set off the bomb that killed at least 18 people in central Bangkok, though he did not give further details.

“It is much clearer who the bombers are, but I can’t reveal right now,” Prawit Wongsuwan said Tuesday. “We have suspects. There are not many people.”

Prawit says Thai authorities had no intelligence on the attack before the Monday night blast.

The defense minister says the bombers intended to discredit the government and harm the economy.

“We didn’t expect this to happen in a crowded area,” he says. “They aim to destroy tourism, economy, our country. But during crisis, we can build unity.”

-Anusonadisai Nattasuda in Bangkok