Bangkok,Thailand (BBN)-A pipe bomb tossed from a bridge to Bangkok’s Sathorn transit pier caused an explosion but no injuries or damage.
Assistant national police chief Prawut Thawornsiri said a improvised pipe bomb was thrown from the Sathorn bridge, but hit a pillar and bounced into a canal were it detonated harmlessly, sending up a large plume of water, reports the Bangkok Post.
One half of the pier remained open with Chao Phraya River boat operations continuing as normal.
Police closed Sathorn Road to traffic from the pier to the Saphan Taksin BTS station to investigate.
Pol Lt Gen Prawut believed the perpetrator wanted to throw the bomb onto a busy walking platform leading to the pier but missed.
CCTV footage taken at the time of the explosion showed people running down a causeway over the canal to escape the blast.
Police initially dispatched divers into the canal to try to recover any surviving pieces of the bomb that Transport Minister Prajin Juntong called an “improvised explosive device”.
Later, sandbags and pumps were brought into to drain the impact area to hasten the search for evidence.
Sathorn pier is a major terminal linking Chao Phraya River commuter boats and the nearby Skytrain station.
It’s also a major tourist stop, especially for Chinese tour groups.
ACM Prajin said the Sathorn bomb was an IED that was thrown. An IED is also blamed for Monday’s devastating explosion at the Erawan shrine that officially has left 20 dead and 108 injured.
BBN/SK/AD