VIDEO: Bangkok blast: an account of the aftermath

A bomb exploded at a popular shrine in central Bangkok during evening rush hour, killing at least 18 people and injuring more than 100, officials said.

The bomb exploded inside the Erawan Shrine, an area frequented by thousands of tourists, office workers and shoppers, national police chief Somyot Poompummuang said.

Italian freelancer journalist Sofia Nitti, who was close by the scene in Bangkok when the blast happened, spoke to Euronews about the blast.

“Rescuers arrived quite rapidly, but the streets were not completely blocked, and even the sky train which passes by this crossroad stopped just for a short time,” said Nitti.

“With the exception of the explosion site, there’s not a remarkably increased presence of army or police, and by the way usually you don’t remark the presence of the military junta walking in the streets,” she said by telephone from the Thai capital.