BANGKOK – Two homemade explosives were set off near one of Thailand's largest shopping malls in downtown Bangkok Sunday night, police say.
The explosions took place at 8:10 pm. Two loud blasts were heard and cloud of smoke gathered on the walkway that connects Siam Paragon shopping mall to the Siam skytrain station. No injuries have been reported.
"The EOD team confirms that the explosions near entrance to Paragon were caused by two improvised explosives that were placed behind a power transformer," Pol Lt Gen Prawut Thawornsiri, assistant to the chief of Royal Thai Police, tweeted late Sunday night.
Police officers initially told the press that the explosion was caused by a malfunctioning electric transformer.
Pol.Maj.Gen. Sombat Milintachinda, head of the EOD team at Pathumwan Police Station, confirmed to Khaosod that the explosives were homemade "pipe bombs.”
Pieces of watches and metal were found at the scene and collected for further investigation by the police.
As a safety precaution, the skytrain suspended its service at Siam station for 30 minutes after the explosions.