one of the most popular and busy parts of bang congress. this is known as the times square. it was timed to cause maximum impact because it was the busiest time of the day. no motive, but the prime minister of bangkok has been on television here talking about the blast and he says it is linked to, he thinks, trying to damage the economy. this is what the general said. remember, this is a military leadership here in bangkok. this is what he said. i just want to read it to you. from this incident it is apparent that there are active individuals or groups that have the intentions to damage thailand who may be pursuing political gain or other intentions by damaging the economy and tourism. tourism is a key part of thailand s economy. only recovering after the military coupe and the years and years of street protests and
divisions. we have seen so many years on the streets of, of bangkok now being played out in a different much more deadly way. even some suggestions that chinese muslims, could be making a revenge attack. because some of them were, were, kicked out of bangkok just a few days ago and sent back to china. but nothing official at the moment. are there heightened security precautions being taken elsewhere in the city. well they say there are. just lost andrew stevens there. a live report there from bangkok, thailand. searchers planning to resume their work in indonesia. looking for debris from an apparent plane crash. air service flight went down with 54 people on board. happened in a remote mountainous area. in the eastern part of the country. there was no distress call. the plane lost contract with air traffic control on sunday. the aviation correspondent, rene marsh joins me. have they said what happened?
but, considering the political tensions that have existed in thailand for some time what about the motivations or the possibilities? police say they actually were warned but that s all they sat said. they didn t say when or by whom. reporter: police are saying they were warned but have not elaborated on that. we would be speculating. but as to a motive. people are confused. obviously thailand has been embroiled in political instability and turmoil for years, for decades now. but they have never seen anything on this scale. and i think that is what is really shook the city of bangkok as well as the country of thailand. they have not seen anything like this. there is the muslim insurgency in the south where there have been many attacks but specifically in that area. thousands have died but in that area. it has never been brought to the
newsroom. were americans hurt and who do you think is responsible? reporter: right now it s early in the investigation. authorities don t know who did it. no one s claimed responsibility. we have a new death toll. it is up to 19 with more than 123 injured. and while many of those casualties are said to be tourists, none are thought to be americans. this happened outside a popular hin du temple. they did check out two other suspicious objects in the area. found not to be bombs. it was a scene of chaos with the dead and injured spread across a busy intersection. in the center of bangkok. police say it s too early to say whether the attacks were politically motivated or terrorism but they do say it was clear that the bombers intended to attack the economy and tourism because this occurred in the heart of bangkok s business district. back to you.
and in the flash is bright orange, chaotic scene followed by people running down the sidewalk. at least 18 people were killed, including chinese tourist. more than 100 were injured. in the heart of bangkok, near a hindu shrine. the timing and location here are key. absolutely. as you mentioned, this is in the heart of bangkok. it s an intersection that is incredibly popular amongst locals and tourists. the shrine itself is hugely popular. you mention that it s a hindu shrine but buddhists seek members and hindu members over bangkok s considerable indian community go there to worship and, of course, 7:00 in the evening, people are heading home from work. they want to go and give pay their respects at the shrine. they bring flowers, insents.