CRI听力:Thai Police Hunt 'Foreign' Man, Two Others for Bangkok Blast

Thailand's National Police Chief Somyot Poompanmoung says the shrine attack on Monday is the work of more than one person.

"I believe that this act was not carried out alone. It was probably carried out by multiple individuals with the support of a network. It's done by someone who knows the escape route. This type of act cannot be done alone."

Thai police says they believe the suspect captured by close circuit cameras minutes before the blast is a foreign national.

Police spokesperson Prawut Thawornsiri suggests his appearance is pointing to an origin either from Europe or the Middle East.

"The language and the acts, the face and the acts that we found in the CCTV footage. I think that he speaks… a foreign language, not English also."

Police have released a sketch of the suspect, who's described as a dark-haired man with glasses and light facial hair.

He was filmed by security cameras leaving a backpack at the shrine.

Investigators suspect that two other men seen on the grainy video footage are his accomplices.

Thai police are offering 1 million baht or just over 28-thousand U.S. dollars for any tips that could lead the arrests of the three men.

At least 20 people are dead and over 120 hurt in Monday night's blast at the popular Erwan Hindu shrine.

Seven Chinese nationals are among the dead.

Twenty-six others are being treated in hospital in Bangkok, with 10 of the Chinese nationals still said to be in intensive care.

So far no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Thai government had originally pointed to the oppostion Red shirt movement that supports ousted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

However, Red Shirt movement organizer Jatuporn Prompan says that suggestion doesn't make sense.

"The explosion at Ratchaprasong intersection is beyond the capacity of the Red Shirts' people. The person who carried out the attack must have been an expert bomber who knew just where to plant the explosives and escape without being captured. Although the scene of the bombing has been the site of Red Shirts protests in the past, other groups had also protested here. There would be nothing to gain for my political movement to carry out such an attack. The Red Shirts want democracy and this bombing can now delay that democracy."

The Thai government says the uNPRecedented attack in Bangkok appears designed to damage the country's economy, which is heavily dependent on tourism.

Meanwhile, monks in saffron robes have been chanting and praying for the departed souls of those killed at the shrine, which still bears the scars from the powerful blast, which is one of deadiest in Bangkok in recent years.

For CRI, I'm Poornima Weerasekara.