Thai police say they have video of a man who may be responsible for Monday's bombing in Bangkok. As we previously reported, the explosion killed at least 20 people.
As Michael Sullivan tells our Newscast unit from Bangkok, a sketch of the suspect was released Wednesday, and is based on images from surveillance cameras. The sketch shows a man apparently leaving a backpack at the Erawan shrine, minutes before the explosion took place.
Reuters says the police described the suspect as being fair-skinned — he could be from the Middle East or Europe — and that he had dark hair, black glasses and a beard. The spokesman said two men in the surveillance video appeared to be accomplices.
The New York Times writes that a police spokesman said the suspect, who wore a yellow shirt, "spoke in English to a motorcycle taxi driver as he fled the scene."
The police are offering a 1 million baht reward for information about the suspect, according to Sullivan. But, "authorities don't know whether the man is still in the country." Authorities also don't know "whether he's Thai or a foreigner or how many other people may have been involved — though officials say it's clear he had help."
Thai police release sketch of #BangkokBlast suspect, offer $28,000 bounty on his head http://t.co/VbkCLI8xKE pic.twitter.com/mXIz8WY3m7
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) August 19, 2015
Sullivan says the prime minister called the attack "the worst ever in Thailand and has vowed to find those responsible."
As we reported, the blast injured 140 people on Monday. There was a second blast on Tuesday, but it wasn't deadly. According to the Bangkok Post: "Someone threw a pipe bomb off a bridge. The bomb hit a pillar and detonated, 'sending up a large plume of water.' "
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.