Bangkok bomb: Explosive thrown at Sathorn pier causes panic [Video]

An explosive has been thrown at Bangkok's central Sathorn pier, a main tourist boat depot, but it bounced into the water before detonating, causing no injuries or damage. CCTV video from 18 August showed the small grenade tossed over the river and exploding in the water while people fled the scene. Police closed Sathorn Road to traffic from the pier to the Saphan Taksin BTS station.

The incident comes after a bomb at the popular Erawan shrine in central Bangkok killed at least 22 people, including eight foreigners from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia, and injured hundreds more. The bomb was detonated at about 19:00 local time (12:00 GMT) on 17 August, at a time when the shrine and the Ratchaprasong intersection was crowded. Police chief Somyot Poompanmoung said the bomb was made with a pipe wrapped in cloth and weighed 3kg. Nobody has claimed credit for the attack.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said the authorities are hunting for a suspect seen on closed circuit television footage near the scene of the bombing. "Today there is a suspect who appeared on CCTV but it's not clear... we are looking for this guy," he said, adding that the suspect is believed to be from an "anti-government group based in Thailand's north east."

Prayuth said that a "war room" will be set up to co-ordinate the government's response to the bombing, according to the Nation TV channel. Thailand's north east is the heartland of the country's anti-coup Red Shirt movement. Prayuth described the bombing as "the worst ever attack" on the country.