WATCH: Bomb explodes in Bangkok
Body parts were scattered across the street after the explosion outside the Erawan Shrine in the downtown Chidlom district of the Thai capital.
"I can confirm it was a bomb, we can't tell which kind yet, we are checking," national police spokesman Lietenant General Prawut Thavornsiri told AFP.
Update: Unconfirmed reports of 2nd bomb at #Bangkok blast site http://t.co/2sJEDOPMku pic.twitter.com/wJNbPJ17tZ
— ST Foreign Desk (@STForeignDesk) August 17, 2015
#BREAKING: Local media now reports at least 15 dead and 80 injured from the #Bangkok #bomb. #ANN pic.twitter.com/Bfvqs0zzVe
— Australian News Net (@AusNewsNetwork) August 17, 2015
#URGENT - Explosion meurtrière à #Bangkok, au moins 10 morts ►http://t.co/izpCyyUjus pic.twitter.com/Va0o5kvxsp
— Orange News (@orangenewsfr) August 17, 2015
Explosie in Bangkok http://t.co/qGKq8zZai7 pic.twitter.com/1k6MXIKQ0E
— De Telegraaf ticker (@telegraafticker) August 17, 2015
#Bangkok #bomba esplosa di fronte tempio buddista. 12 morti. #fotogallery http://t.co/JXpc39NPdO pic.twitter.com/KGAdn9mS9w
— Leggo (@leggoit) August 17, 2015
The Erawan is an enormously popular shrine to the Hindu god Brahma but is visited by thousands of Buddhist devotees every day.
It is located on a main road through Bangkok's commercial hub and is surrounded by three major shopping malls.
Police and ambulances rushed to the scene after the bomb went off around 7pm (1200 GMT) local time. - AFP
(Photo from video)