Monks make offerings at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok. From abc.net
Buddhist monks led a ritual at Bangkok’s Erawan Shrine on Wednesday morning for the victims of Monday’s deadly bomb attack as the popular shrine reopened to the public. The monks chanted to guide the spirits of those killed, and received offerings of lotus flowers and incense from grief-stricken relatives of the victims.
The bombing on Monday left 20 people dead, including 11 foreigners, with people from China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, the UK, and a family from Malaysia among the victims. The bomb exploded at about 7 p.m. in an area filled with tourists, office workers, and shoppers. More than 100 people were wounded. No organization has so far come forward to claim responsibility for the act. Police continue to hunt a man shown on security camera footage apparently planting the bomb.
Family members of Malaysians victims pay respect to the monks. From the guardian.com
The shrine’s main statue of the four-faced Hindu deity Brahma, known as Phra Phrom in Thailand, was slightly damaged in the attack. The authorities said the statue would be repaired on 24 August. In Thai culture, Phra Phrom is viewed as a deity of good fortune and protection, and typifies the kingdom’s unique blend of Buddhist and Hindu traditions. The shrine, called San Thao Maha Phrom in Thai, was built in 1956 and is immensely popular with Buddhists from Thailand and overseas. Cash donations received at the shrine are managed by a foundation, which distributes the funds to charitable organizations and hospitals in Thailand.
Damage to one of the four faces of the Phra Phrom statue. From straitstimes.com
The ceremony was attended by relatives of the deceased, including Malaysian national Neoh Ee Ling, who lost five family members in the blast. Also present was office worker Nuansupha Sarunsikarin, who expressed shock and sadness. “I'm depressed for those innocent people who had to pay for something they’re not involved with and now have no chance to live their lives,” she said. (The Standard)
Tommy Goh, 56, a Thai-Malaysian from Penang, said only a delayed taxi from his hotel spared him from being at the shrine around the time of the blast. “Every year I come down to this shrine, we were meant to be here around 6.50–7pm [on Monday] but the taxi didn’t arrive from the hotel. . . . So we went somewhere else. Ten minutes later and it could have been so different.” (Bangkok Post)
The attack has also affected business in the area around the normally busy shrine, which sits on a corner of the Ratchaprasong intersection in Pathum Wan, one of the city’s busiest districts, surrounded by hotels and shopping malls. Kumpa Yodsrimuang, one of a number of vendors who sell floral garlands and other offerings in front of the shrine, said, “I am lucky that the florist stalls in front of the shrine were all closed on Monday, but the blast has seriously hurt us economically.” (The Nation)
A second explosion on Tuesday by a bridge at the Chao Phraya River has been linked to Monday’s attack. Colonel Kamthorn Ouicharoen of the police bomb squad confirmed that the second bomb was similar to the one detonated at Erawan Shrine. “It's exactly the same, the equipment used to make it, the bomb size,” he said. (Al Jazeera)