Five killed, 100 injured in three blasts in Bangkok (Second Lead)

BANGKOK - At least five people were killed and 100 injured Thursday when three successive blasts ripped through the main financial district of Thailand’s capital, media reports said.

The blasts took place around 9 p.m. in Silom district, hitting the Bangkok Bank headquarters, the third floor of Sala Daeng sky train station and a hotel, Minister of Public Health Jurin Laksanawisit said.

A woman died after she was rushed to Chulalongkorn Hospital, Xinhua reported quoting TPBS TV.

Spokesman for the Centre for the Resolutions of Emergency Situations (CRES), Sansern Kaewkamnerd, confirmed that the explosions were caused by M-79 grenades.

The blasts occurred around 500 metres from the Sala Daeng Intersection where the anti-government “red- shirts” protesters were holding demonstrations, the Nation news group said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has called an urgent security meeting to assess the situation after the explosions.

Bangkok Sky train authority has suspended services of four stations and the Subway authority has suspended services of five stations after the bomb blasts.

The “red-shirts” protesters who camped nearby lit at least 10 fireworks to prevent army helicopters from entering the area.

Earlier Thursday evening, Thailand civil court issued an order restricting the use of force to disperse the red-shirt rally at Rajprasong Intersection.

However, the court noted that the demonstration affected the public so the government could use internationally-accepted measures to deal with the protesters form lighter to harsher measures.