Bangkok bomb kills 27, second bomb defused

Thailand police said on Monday no fewer than 16 people were killed on Monday as an explosion rocked a busy business district in Bangkok.Unofficial accounts gave the death toll at 27. Four foreigners were among the dead.

The Thai police radio reported that the cause of the explosion was not clear.

Witnesses said the explosion took place around 7:15 local time at the Rajprasong Intersection, a business area famous among tourists and locals for a revered Hindu shrine.

Eric Seldin, an office worker, said he was having his dinner at the Hyatt Erawan Hotel when a large explosion shook the building.

He said five minutes later when they were all evacuated from the hotel they saw several bodies covered under white sheets and damage to a nearby shrine.