Jellybean
August 2nd, 2019, 15:05
Members and readers may be interested to read the following travel advice, which I received from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office:
Thailand travel advice
Latest update: Summary – There has been a report of explosions at 3 locations in Bangkok. Initial information is that these have occurred at the Government Complex recreational park on Chaeng Wattana Road, near Chong Nonsi BTS (skytrain) station, and in sub-soi (side road) 57/1 of Rama 9 road in Bangkok. We are monitoring the situation. Please follow the advice of Thai authorities regarding the explosions.
Time updated
4:50am, 2 August 2019
And an article on the explosions was published in The Guardian newspaper, which I quote below:
Bangkok explosions: two injured in three blasts reported in Asean host city
Injuries reported in explosions at skytrain station, a government complex and a main road
Hannah Ellis-Petersen
Fri 2 Aug 2019 05.07 BST Last modified on Fri 2 Aug 2019 06.52 BST
Bomb disposal officers at the scene of a small explosion in Bangkok. Blasts were reported at two other locations.
Several small explosions have been reported across Bangkok, injuring at least two people, as the city plays host to foreign ministers from the UK, the US, China and Russia.
Six bombs went off at three different locations on Friday morning, including a busy skytrain commuter station called BTS Chong Nonsi, a government complex in the north, and at the side of one of the city’s busiest main roads, Rama 9.
Four people, including two street cleaners, were lightly injured in the blasts and one was taken to hospital.
Two suspects have been arrested in connection to the incidents.
A statement from the office of prime minister Prayut Chan-ocha said he had ordered an immediate investigation. “The situation is being closely monitored and security measures have been tightened. The public is urged not to panic,” the statement read.
Prayut also tweeted his condemnation of those who had planted the explosives and “damaged peace and the country’s image”.
The devices that exploded were believed to be small homemade “ping pong bombs”, the size of a tennis ball, which were not designed to cause any major damage or casualties, and instead appear to have been placed to embarrass the new government.
Several senior officials from foreign governments are in Thailand following the annual meeting of foreign ministers at Asean (Association of South-east Asian Nations) on Wednesday, including the UK’s new foreign minister Dominic Raab, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi.
The explosions, which were reported around 9am, went off just prior to a speech by Pompeo in Bangkok on Friday morning in which he commended Thailand’s recent return to democracy, following the election in March.
Friday’s explosions followed an evacuation of the Royal Thai police headquarters on Thursday night after a man was seen planting a suspicious package. The bomb squad was called, the phone signal in the area was cut and the suspect was arrested and taken into custody. The police later confirmed that two fake bombs had been found.
Link: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/02/bangkok-explosions-injuries-asean-thailand
Thailand travel advice
Latest update: Summary – There has been a report of explosions at 3 locations in Bangkok. Initial information is that these have occurred at the Government Complex recreational park on Chaeng Wattana Road, near Chong Nonsi BTS (skytrain) station, and in sub-soi (side road) 57/1 of Rama 9 road in Bangkok. We are monitoring the situation. Please follow the advice of Thai authorities regarding the explosions.
Time updated
4:50am, 2 August 2019
And an article on the explosions was published in The Guardian newspaper, which I quote below:
Bangkok explosions: two injured in three blasts reported in Asean host city
Injuries reported in explosions at skytrain station, a government complex and a main road
Hannah Ellis-Petersen
Fri 2 Aug 2019 05.07 BST Last modified on Fri 2 Aug 2019 06.52 BST
Bomb disposal officers at the scene of a small explosion in Bangkok. Blasts were reported at two other locations.
Several small explosions have been reported across Bangkok, injuring at least two people, as the city plays host to foreign ministers from the UK, the US, China and Russia.
Six bombs went off at three different locations on Friday morning, including a busy skytrain commuter station called BTS Chong Nonsi, a government complex in the north, and at the side of one of the city’s busiest main roads, Rama 9.
Four people, including two street cleaners, were lightly injured in the blasts and one was taken to hospital.
Two suspects have been arrested in connection to the incidents.
A statement from the office of prime minister Prayut Chan-ocha said he had ordered an immediate investigation. “The situation is being closely monitored and security measures have been tightened. The public is urged not to panic,” the statement read.
Prayut also tweeted his condemnation of those who had planted the explosives and “damaged peace and the country’s image”.
The devices that exploded were believed to be small homemade “ping pong bombs”, the size of a tennis ball, which were not designed to cause any major damage or casualties, and instead appear to have been placed to embarrass the new government.
Several senior officials from foreign governments are in Thailand following the annual meeting of foreign ministers at Asean (Association of South-east Asian Nations) on Wednesday, including the UK’s new foreign minister Dominic Raab, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi.
The explosions, which were reported around 9am, went off just prior to a speech by Pompeo in Bangkok on Friday morning in which he commended Thailand’s recent return to democracy, following the election in March.
Friday’s explosions followed an evacuation of the Royal Thai police headquarters on Thursday night after a man was seen planting a suspicious package. The bomb squad was called, the phone signal in the area was cut and the suspect was arrested and taken into custody. The police later confirmed that two fake bombs had been found.
Link: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/02/bangkok-explosions-injuries-asean-thailand