Two Injured In Small Explosion At Bangkok's Busy Rail Station

By Mohd Haikal Mohd Isa BANGKOK, May 11 (Bernama) -- A small explosion occurred at Bangkok's busy Hualamphong railway station on Wednesday afternoon injuring two men but the Thai Police has ruled out any bomb as the cause of the incident. Thai Deputy Police Chief Pol Gen Sriwara Rangsiphrammanakul said, the explosion happened at 11.56am (Thai time) and was caused by an unidentified powdery substance stored in a small glass bottle and ignited by a cigarette butt. "It (the explosion) was not caused by a 'pingpong bomb'," he told the media at the Government House on Wednesday, while at the same time dismissing politics as the reason for the incident. He met the media after attending the National Security Council (NSC) meeting which was chaired by Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan-o-cha here. Local media in their reports claimed that the explosion was caused by a small explosive device called "Ping Pong Bomb", a table-tennis ball which was stuffed with gunpowder. Meanwhile, NSC's secretary-general Gen Thawip Netniyom said, the authorities would carry out further forensic tests to determine the cause of the explosion despite the availability of a Close Circuit Television (CCTV) recording the incident. "We need to gather more evidence to learn what really happened, eventhough the explosion was captured by the CCTV," he told the media. The two victims of the explosion were identified as Thanong Maisao, 25 and Lamai Aungamsap, 30. They were later taken to the nearby hospital for treatment on the injuries sustained in the incident. The CCTV recording showed both men were smoking before the explosion happened. Thai police officers including from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) still combed the site of the explosion to gather more evidence to help their investigation on the incident. In August last year, a powerful bomb exploded at the popular Erawan Shrine in Bangkok's Rachaprasong, killing 20 people including several Malaysians. --BERNAMA