Thai gov. to tax (remitted) income from abroad for tax residents starting 2024 - Part II

[webfact]

Search continues for bomb fragments at Sathorn pier to ascertain it links to Erawan shrine deadly explosion



BANGKOK: -- Marine police frogmen yesterday continued to search for evidence in Sathorn canal which is connected to Chao Phraya river following what police believed would link to the deadly explosion at Erawan shrine on Ratchaprasong intersection on Monday.

A bomb was thrown at Sathorn river ferry pier the next day after the Erawan shrine bomb explosion but missed the target and the bomb, a pipe bomb, landed in the canal and exploded. But nobody was hurt.

The Sathorn pier is a place where tourists will come to take river cruisers to visit famous temples along the Chao Phraya river. It is also the place where locals will come to take ferries across the river, and is the place where BTS sky train station locates.

The pier is at the end of Sathorn road which connects with Silom and New roads.

Frogmen have earlier collected several bomb shrapnel and pellets similar to those collected from the Erawan shrine explosion scene. But they have to find more which ate believed still in the water to ascertain their theory that the two explosions were relevant so that police investigators could narrow their probe into those responsible.

Eyewitness accounts at the site of the second bombing at Sathorn pier related that the device was seen being thrown from the Taksin bridge and was aimed to pass between the gap between the BTS electric train tracks and the Taksin bridge. The bomber clearly was aiming for the pier and/or the gangway connecting it to the shore but the device hit a railing first and was deflected and landed in the water where it detonated. The resulting blast blew a huge water fount upwards and fortunately no one was injured or kill

A eyewitness Sawee Sawektamal said she heard a loud boom and saw a huge fount of water blown upwards and drenching the entire area.

After that it became very quiet and she saw two very wet Chinese tourists running for their lives.

One possible reason that the bomber targeted this site for the second bombing was because it is a critical connecting point for the BTS electric rail to boat service that ferries large numbers of tourists and locals across the Chao Phraya River.

From the pier, visitors – mainly Chinese and European tourists – are able to take boat trips to popular tourist attractions such as Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of Emerald Buddha), Wat Pho and Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn).

A ferry service employee said on average the Sathorn pier handles no less than 3,000 passengers every day and most are Chinese tourists.

But after the incident, the number of tourists has dropped by more than half, and only less than 50 Chinese tourists had bought boat tickets yesterday.

Before the incident almost all tourists buying tickets here were Chinese followed loosely by a small number of European nationals. Now the number of customers has fallen dramatically and now we only see European tourists, she added.

Yesterday, authorities from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and Marine Police personnel blocked off a section of the pier to pump out water to enable a team from Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) unit to use metal scanners to search for bomb fragments.

Earlier, 20 metallic bearings 5 mm in diameter were found scattered in a wide area which the EOD personnel indicated that the device was a most probably a pipe-bomb.

Such bomb is made from metal pipe and is usually lit with fuses similar to big fire-crackers.

They estimate that when detonated, the blast radius will spread out to between 35 – 50 meters.

Significantly, comparisons with fragments found at the Ratchaprasong intersection bombing show that both devices were similar and constructed using the same methods, they said.

Yesterday they found a 7-inch metal pipe but have yet to determine by forensic science if it is part of the pipe bomb.

Search continued today.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/search-continues-for-bomb-fragments-at-sathorn-pier-to-ascertain-it-links-to-erawan-shrine-deadly-explosion


-- Thai PBS 2015-08-20

[NCC1701A]

"i just came from hosing down the first bomb site. everything gone. i kept finding funny round metal balls. i throw away. not need. you guys need help here now?"

"sure... i think we have room for a few more guys. you guys step on everything over there, and we will stir up as much silt as possible over here..."

Edited August 20, 2015 by NCC1701A

[FloridaExport]

There must be a video somewhere of him throwing the bomb. I wonder how they are so sure it wasn't aimed at the BTS track.

[Mackie]

There must be a video somewhere of him throwing the bomb. I wonder how they are so sure it wasn't aimed at the BTS track.

Of course they are sure. There is no BTS track under that particular bridge. The device was thrown from the bridge onto the walkway and bounced off into the river. I know the area well. No way they were aiming at the BTS track. However, if they had planted the device inside the pier, it would've caused carnage. Many tourists use this pier to get around the city. Asiatic in particular. Free ride.

[FloridaExport]

There must be a video somewhere of him throwing the bomb. I wonder how they are so sure it wasn't aimed at the BTS track.

Of course they are sure. There is no BTS track under that particular bridge. The device was thrown from the bridge onto the walkway and bounced off into the river. I know the area well. No way they were aiming at the BTS track. However, if they had planted the device inside the pier, it would've caused carnage. Many tourists use this pier to get around the city. Asiatic in particular. Free ride.

There is a BTS track running between the two overpasses, and there is a nearby stop. If it was thrown from the eastbound bridge, it easily could have been thrown at the track, passed over or underneath it, and landed near the pier.

If it was thrown south from the westbound lane, then it makes sense that it could not have been aimed at the BTS. However, the OP says specifically that it was aimed between the track and the bridge.

Edited August 20, 2015 by FloridaExport

[Overandout]

I know that this isn't a laughing matter... but should someone expalin that dressing in green is not what being a frogman is about?

Edited August 20, 2015 by Overandout

[ourmanflint]

If this was a powerful pipe bomb that exploded here, then the percussive force should have killed hundreds and hundreds of fish all floating to the surface,.

[Chang_paarp]

If this was a powerful pipe bomb that exploded here, then the percussive force should have killed hundreds and hundreds of fish all floating to the surface,.

Fish in that stretch of water? Surely you jest. If there were a number of freshly killed fish, the locals would have seen to them in a very efficient manner, making forensic investigation somewhat difficult.

[whaleboneman]

If this was a powerful pipe bomb that exploded here, then the percussive force should have killed hundreds and hundreds of fish all floating to the surface,.

Fish in that stretch of water? Surely you jest. If there were a number of freshly killed fish, the locals would have seen to them in a very efficient manner, making forensic investigation somewhat difficult.

That stretch of water is loaded with fish.