Tourists among 22 killed in apparent attack on Bangkok shrine

By Eliott C. McLaughlin and Kocha Olarn, CNN

August 18, 2015

Bangkok, Thailand (CNN)A huge bomb explosion that appeared to target a popular Hindu shrine in central Bangkok killed at least 22 people Monday and wounded about 120 more, authorities said.

Twelve victims died at the scene, and the others died later at area hospitals, officials said.

"It was like this huge gust of wind and debris flying through you," recalled Sanjeev Vyas, a DJ from Mumbai, India, who was in the middle of the fray. "... And then I see bodies everywhere, there are cars on fire, there are bikes everywhere. People are screaming."

Police spokesman Lt. Gen. Prawut Thavornsiri Tuesday morning told Channel 3 that at least 22 people had been killed, marking the latest incremental uptick in the death toll.

Foreigners are among the casualties, with the Erawan Emergency Center saying that a Filipino and Chinese citizen were among those killed.

National police Chief Somyot Pumpanmuang said on state TV that Chinese tourists who had traveled to Thailand from the Philippines had been killed. The Chinese Embassy in Bangkok later confirmed the report, telling China's state-run Xinhua that three nationals had died in the blast, while another 15 Chinese tourists were injured, some seriously. Hong Kong's Immigration Department reported that three residents were among the injured.

It's too early to say who orchestrated the attack, Somyot said there had been warnings about possible attacks, if not exactly when or where they might occur.

The blast didn't cause immediate, rampant panic, as some bystanders were milling around peacefully and a family apparently unaware of the explosion was enjoying a meal at a nearby McDonald's, freelance journalist Adam Ramsey said.

Vyas, the Indian DJ, said he initially didn't know what to think of the explosion -- thinking, as his ears were ringing, that it seemed like a Hollywood movie or maybe a major car wreck.

"But then I was like, yeah, this has to be a bomb because of the utter scale of devastation," he said early Tuesday. "I could see it in front of my eyes."

With school out and many in the city commuting home at the time of the blast, locals were among those caught up in the mayhem. So, too, were tourists there to visit the shrine, shop in the mall or stay in the many area hotels.

There was traffic, everybody was honking," Vyas recalled. "It (was) utter chaos and mayhem.

"http://edition.cnn.com/2015/08/17/asia/thailand-bangkok-bomb/

Structure of the lead:

WHO- not given

WHEN- Monday

WHAT- a huge bomb explosion

WHY- not given

WHERE- Bangkok, Thailand

HOW- not given

Keywords:

1.         target 目標

2.     shrine 神社;聖地

3.         debris 碎片;瓦礫

4.         fray 磨損;爭論;打架

5.         death toll 死亡人數

6.         confirm 確認

7.         orchestrate 把...編成管弦樂曲;精心安排

8.         rampant 猖獗的;猛烈的;蔓生的

9.         bystander 旁觀的

10.      utter 完全;絕對;全然的

11.      mayhem 混亂