Thai police say Bangkok bomb substance looks like TNT

[webfact]

Thai police say Bangkok bomb substance looks like TNT
By NATTASUDA ANUSONADISAI

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai explosives experts say substance from the bomb that blew up in downtown Bangkok last week looks like TNT, although police still have not received chemical test results, the national police spokesman said Wednesday.

Prawuth Thavornsiri told journalists that it was still not clear if the bomb that killed 20 people Aug. 17 was made of TNT or C4, a plastic explosive. But based on the experience of the bomb disposal experts, he said in English, "they say it looks looks like TNT."

Prawuth says investigators are trying to find other pieces of the bomb to analyze.

More than a week after the bombing at the Erawan Shrine, which also left 120 people injured, police appear to be no closer to tracking down suspects or determining a motive for the attack.

Police have released an artist's sketch of the suspect who was seen in a security camera video from the open-air shrine leaving a backpack at a bench and walking away. A separate camera showed the suspect, wearing a yellow T-shirt, on the back of a motorcycle taxi leaving the site.

But authorities say they don't know if the suspect has left the country, what his nationality is or if the attack was linked to internal affairs or international terrorism.

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-08-26

[NextStationBangkok]

The investigation progress is very slow.

1. Did police asked the guest house and hotels to check the records of guests checked-in and out for a month ? And did they found any close folks who bombed the temple, who dont know how to speak English ?

2. Did police check the people fly in and out of country for 1 month, and all are pictures at immigration ?

3. Did they check all security camera at the boarding and in duty free area if any one close to the video ?

4. At least if they have tip-off for certain nationality, why not to focus on such persons arrived and left.

5. Terrorists will not fly very long distance after committing crime, did they check who had flown out near by ?

I am not sure how long Thai intelligence will take to pin down the culprits. They are only busy counting the daily collection of their shares.

It is a big embarrassment for Thailand.

[taony]

Trying to find other pieces of the bomb to analyze?!?!?!!?!?

[Mango Bob]

It's has taken them over a week to come up with this information that is may have been TNT. This is why they can't find the person who did this terrible act. Then again why accept help from the Brits or Americans. The Boston Police and FBI had one dead Boston Marathon bomber and had the other in jail long before this time.

Edited August 26, 2015 by Mango Bob

[JamesTorbin]

Thai police say Bangkok bomb substance looks like TNT

Looks like...

Excellent, we should all feel safer now.

Edited August 26, 2015 by metisdead
Bold font removed.

[speedtripler]

After 8 days, it " looks like" good old fashioned dynamite....

How long does a test take? Probably ten minutes by a competent expert in the lab?? Are we really asking too many questions??

[WhizBang]

Prawuth says investigators are trying to find other pieces of the bomb to analyze.

Trying? So why did they allow the BMA to hose the place down about 12 or so hours after the incident? Should they not have closed it off and allowed forensic expects all the time they needed? Oh, right. TiT.

The Keystone Cops look like professionals next to the RTP.

Edited August 26, 2015 by WhizBang

[DLock]

"Prawuth says investigators are trying to find other pieces of the bomb to analyze."

Perhaps if you had watched a few more episodes of CSI, you would see that they set up a crime scene and comb the entire area from top to bottom...that you may have found a few fragments of the bomb materials.

Instead you called the Fire Department to hose all the evidence away because you were scared of losses from tourism.

Clownshoes.

[phoenixdoglover]

From a chemical testing kit web site:

Trinitrotoluene (TNT) is a common explosive used in both military and industrial settings. Its convenient handling properties and explosive strength make it a common choice in explosives.

TNT can be appear as yellow crystals or a solid block after melt-casting.

Several tests are available for detecting TNT residues. Each test gives results as a simple, easy-to-understand color change.

The photo to the left [not shown] shows detection of TNT using ChemSee's Nitro-Pen. This test was performed by U.S. Military personnel.

Notice a dark purple color forms on the Nitro-Pen due to the presence of TNT.

Testing for TNT can be completed in less than three minutes using the Nitro-Pen.

TNT is present in blast residues and has a half life exceeding 40 days.

There's still time to order your test kit and get answers to your pressing questions.

[DLock]

Dear RTP,

Since you keep complaining that you don't have the spiffy technology that you see on CSI, I have taken the liberty of ordering you a CSI Forensic Kit from Amazon.com. It should be here in a week or so.

Who should I address it to?

[bino]

Looks like TNT??

How did they determine that? Give it the duck test?

If it looks like a duck, smells like a duck, walks like a duck, then it is probably a duck.

[zaphod reborn]

Amazing Thailand. They should have immediately determined whether the explosives were TNT or C4. Gunpowder residue detectors are fairly common. I wonder if RTP has any of them? Instead of doing all that parading with the horses and harassing foreigners, they could have been equipped with gunpowder residue detectors and quickly identified some suspects. 10 years ago, a simple gun shooter identification kit was developed to be carried by police and is about 90% accurate. So, accurate enough to know whether someone should be held for further testing in a lab.

[worgeordie]

Why not use those bomb detectors,they paid so much money for,

i thought they were supposed to detect all kinds of explosives ,

put a different chip in and they could detect anything,except

corruption.

regards worgeordie

[ikurauni]

It has been amazing to watch how RTP has been handling the case.

What do they teach at the police academy?

However, they have been very good at taking money and eating for free at restaurants.

[samsensam]

Why not use those bomb detectors,they paid so much money for,

i thought they were supposed to detect all kinds of explosives ,

put a different chip in and they could detect anything,except

corruption.

regards worgeordie

those were a con, the guy was jailed.

[samsensam]

'looks like...' why dont the thai police keep their mouths shut until that have a fact to announce?

like when they claimed there were two accomplices instead of saying that there were two people of interest to the investigation. then they wouldnt look stupid when the two turned out to be tour guides.

i feel sorry for normal thai people when they have such clowns serving and protecting them.

[elgordo38]

Thai police say Bangkok bomb substance looks like TNT

Looks like...

Excellent, we should all feel safer now.

Maybe a smell and taste test might work.

[Thai at Heart]

Trying to find other pieces of the bomb to analyze?!?!?!!?!?

They are going through 200 cubic metres of wash water with gravel and grit in it after they pressure washed and swept the street.

[englishoak]

Ask the BBC they have a few bits n bobs the RTP couldnt be arsed with.

[oneday]

"...although police still have not received chemical test results..."

...and there is the root cause of why they will fail in their investigations. It has been well over a week since the bomb and they can't get test results on the substance...PATHETIC.

[gerrythepoet]

Totally confused- first news report I heard about 30 minutes after the blast was on NHK TV-

There has been a bomb that went off near a popular shrine in Bangkok - 5kgs of TNT

Then a pipe bomb, then a backpack.

Looks like news reporters gather information from bystanders who wear uniform and talk as if they are fully aware of the incidents.

[fred Kubasa]

Actually it is rumored that one thought it was peanut butter !

[tuanku]

Why not use those bomb detectors,they paid so much money for,

i thought they were supposed to detect all kinds of explosives ,

put a different chip in and they could detect anything,except

corruption.

regards worgeordie

those were a con, the guy was jailed.

I think he knows that - although they were good enough to fool Khunying Pornthip!

[jamie2009]

In the majority of places in the world the whole area would be barriered off and probably still would be. There would be a Forensics people assisted by the police possibly the army crawling on their hands knees sifting through all the debris for days, nope not in Thailand, they just hosed the evidence down the drains, makes you think it's an inside job. The bombers must be laughing their caps off.

[PETERTHEEATER]

......... looks like TNT,

So do some soaps and detergents. So they have a piece large enough to visually guess what the agent is?

Most likely the main explosive was ammonium nitrate with a high explosive primer.

[jerojero]

Looks like? No test results. Why is this news? Oh sorry, forgot.... Big Shot Policeman has to get his name in the news, gains face. The self importance is astonishing.

[Halion]

If it was TNT the blast radius would be covered in a fine black powder and fairly easy to determine, however, many military and commercial explosives are compounds containing TNT along with other explosive compounds.

Should it be determined that the explosive was indeed TNT or a military derivative it will make for interesting reading. Such explosive can be obtained in this country by various nefarious means but they are harder to get hold of and far more sophisticated that the common and garden fertilizer bomb. The explosive agent should have been determined days ago.

[chrisinth]

If it was TNT the blast radius would be covered in a fine black powder and fairly easy to determine, however, many military and commercial explosives are compounds containing TNT along with other explosive compounds.

Should it be determined that the explosive was indeed TNT or a military derivative it will make for interesting reading. Such explosive can be obtained in this country by various nefarious means but they are harder to get hold of and far more sophisticated that the common and garden fertilizer bomb. The explosive agent should have been determined days ago.

I still argue the fact that the actual description of the device(s) used in Bkk conflict with each other.

I have maintained from the beginning that if Trinitrotoluene (TNT) was used as the explosive material, then it is certainly not a pipe bomb.

Just to back up what i am saying, and the reasons for saying it, please scan through this article on the link below. Although it related to advice for homeland security in America, the definitions and descriptions in it should point you in the right direction.

I don't know how many pipe bombs i have made safe (in an earlier life), but I never came across 'high explosive' used as core material.

http://www.nationalhomelandsecurityknowledgebase.com/Research/International_Articles/Bomb_Basics.html

Extract from the article:

"An improvised explosive device need not use what are known as high explosives.

These high explosives those at the top of the scale in explosion speed. For example, an RDX explosion takes place at 27,500 feet per second. Nitrogylcerin explodes at 25,000 and TNT at 22.5 thousand feet per second. That is why they are known as High Explosives.

On the other hand, half of all bombings carried out in the USA are pipe bombings. These simple devices use black powder inside a container. Although the black powder (charcoal and potassium nitrate) is slow, the build up inside a sealed pipe creates tremendous pressure and then explodes releasing beside the blast wave a deadly wave of shrapnel. These bombs are also a favorite of suicide terrorists who may strap as many as 6 pipes to their chest and all will be detonated together, creating a simple but devastating weapon that can claim many victims. Everything required to build a pipe bomb is readily and commercially available most of it at your hardware store".

[dbrenn]

Trying to find other pieces of the bomb to analyze?!?!?!!?!?

Just ask the BBC. Their journalist was collecting bomb fragments and unsuccessfully trying to hand them in to the National police headquarters.

[Artisi]

'looks like...' why dont the thai police keep their mouths shut until that have a fact to announce?

like when they claimed there were two accomplices instead of saying that there were two people of interest to the investigation. then they wouldnt look stupid when the two turned out to be tour guides.

i feel sorry for normal thai people when they have such clowns serving and protecting them.

The reason Thai people don't give a rat's arse about the police and their policing.