Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) — A huge bomb explosion that appeared to target a popular Hindu shrine in central Bangkok killed at least 22 people Monday and wounded about 120 more, authorities said.
Twelve victims died at the scene, and the others died later at area hospitals, officials said.
Related: Filipino, 2 Chinese among those killed in Bangkok blast
“It was like this huge gust of wind and debris flying through you,” recalled Sanjeev Vyas, a DJ from Mumbai, India, who was in the middle of the fray. “… And then I see bodies everywhere, there are cars on fire, there are bikes everywhere. People are screaming.”
Police spokesman Lt. Gen. Prawut Thavornsiri Tuesday morning told Channel 3 that at least 22 people had been killed, marking the latest incremental uptick in the death toll.
Foreigners are among the casualties, with the Erawan Emergency Center saying that a Filipino and Chinese citizen were among those killed.
National police Chief Somyot Pumpanmuang said on state TV that Chinese tourists who had traveled to Thailand from the Philippines had been killed. The Chinese Embassy in Bangkok later confirmed the report, telling China’s state-run Xinhua that three nationals had died in the blast, while another 15 Chinese tourists were injured, some seriously.
Hong Kong’s Immigration Department reported that three residents were among the injured.
It’s too early to say who orchestrated the attack, Somyot said there had been warnings about possible attacks, if not exactly when or where they might occur.
Suspicious items turn out to be garbage bags
The device that exploded was a pipe bomb wrapped in white cloth, Somyot said, according to the state news agency. Police earlier described it as a 3-kilogram “improvised device.”
The Thai police chief told reporters the bomb came from a motorcycle, though the Bangkok Post reported it was fastened to a utility police.
Police have not officially stated whether they believe the bomb had a specific target.
Whatever its intentions, the damage was undeniable. Steve Herman, a correspondent and bureau chief for Voice of America, said he thought it was thunder when the explosion first went off.
He saw six bodies under sheets inside the shrine and one outside of it, Herman said.
Another reporter, The New York Times’ Thomas Fuller, said body parts were scattered around the area. He estimated that several hundred military and police officials, some of them using dogs, were scouring the scene for more bombs.
Police initially sealed off the scene near the popular Erawan Shrine because, they said at the time, a second bomb in the area remained active and needed to be defused. Bomb squad members in blast suits responded, and an officer announced over a loudspeaker, “The situation is still not safe. Please all stay back. There might be another bomb in the area.”
But Somyot said later the suspicious items were not bombs.
“They are just garbage bags,” he said. “Our (explosives) team is still working at the site, and we will close down the traffic around the area until noon tomorrow.”
Maj. Gen. Sirwara Rangsribhramnakul said security was subsequently tightened throughout the city. Asked how many security forces had been deployed, he replied, “As much as we have.”
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