British student killed in Bangkok shrine blast
Suspect caught on CCTV dropping rucksack then strolling away
A TEENAGE British student was among the 22 killed in Monday’s bomb attack in Bangkok, it was revealed yesterday.
Vivian Chan, 19, from London, was on holiday in Thailand with friends, one of whom also died in the blast at a city centre shrine
Last night a huge manhunt was underway after Thai authorities released CCTV footage showing the prime suspect moments before the blast.
Chilling images show the young man with shaggy dark hair and glasses, who wore a yellow T-shirt, calmly removing his rucksack and placing it on a bench before strolling away.
Miss Chan, who was studying at the BPP Law School in central London, was with her friend Arcadia Pang Wan-chee, 24, from Hong Kong, at the Erawan Hindu shrine when the bomb exploded 15 minutes later in the middle of the evening rush hour. They were among many tourists killed, including five members of a Malay family.
Miss Chan, who was originally from Hong Kong, attended the International School there run by Harrow School.
She enrolled at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London l ast
‘She decided to go at the last minute’
year before transferring to the BPP Law School in May.
Her friend Jesi Chan told Channel 4 News: ‘ She wasn’t planning to go to Thailand at all. She decided to go to Thailand last minute, and she said she wanted to go to Singapore with me on the coming Friday. I cannot believe it’s true. I have been crying for the whole day. I still believe that I’ll be able to see her soon.’
Friends from around the world paid tribute on a Facebook page to the ‘contagiously happy’ teenager, who ran a popular food blog. Michelle Lou, a fellow pupil at Harrow International School, described Miss Chan as ‘ kind and cheerful person’ who loved writing about food and was huge fan of Cantopop, a genre of Cantonese music made primarily in Hong Kong.
Teacher Reanne Haycox said: ‘Such a wonderful and kind person. We’re all so unlucky to lose you! My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family and friends.’
One of her favourite Canto-pop singers, Joey Yung, posted a photograph of the pair together with a tribute. She said: ‘You have left a deep impression in me. Your wit, loveliness and your smile with dimples on the cheek.
‘Thank you for being in my life. Our last conversation you said you would study hard and then we meet again. I never thought life could be that fickle... I hope you rest in peace.’
BPP dean Professor Peter Crisp said: ‘ Everyone a t BPP is devastated to hear of the loss of one of our students, Vivian Chan, in Bangkok yesterday. Our thoughts are with Vivian’s family and we are currently working to support them in any way we can.’
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed a Briton had been among those killed in the blast.
‘I can confirm that one British national, a resident of Hong Kong, lost her life in the attack,’ he said. ‘British Embassy staff in Thailand are assisting her family at this very difficult time.
‘The loss of life and injury in Bangkok is horrific and I condemn this callous act of violence against completely innocent and unsuspecting members of the public.’
David Cameron also condemned the bombing and said he was ‘deeply saddened to hear a British national was killed in the horrific Bangkok bombing.
‘My thoughts are with her family and all those affected.’
The grainy CCTV footage released by the Thai authorities was taken by cameras near the shrine. They show the young man walking to the temple and leaving his black rucksack on a bench before leaving the site while looking at his phone. Thai police confirmed last night that he is the man they are hunting.
Police spokesman Lieutenant General Prawut Thavornsiri said: ‘The yellow shirt guy is not just the suspect. He is the bomber.’ Thai-
‘Callous act of violence’
land’s junta leader Prayut Chan-ocha described the bombing as the ‘worst ever attack’ on the kingdom, adding that the suspect was believed to be from country’s north-east – the heartland of the Red Shirt movement that opposed his military coup last October.
The bomb, which was contained in a pipe and weighed more than 6lb, went off about 7pm local time in an area filled with tourists, office workers and shoppers.
No one has claimed responsibility. Tensions in the city were further fuelled yesterday afternoon when a device was thrown into a canal and blew up near a busy train station in central Bangkok, sending people running for cover.
Police earlier insisted they had not ruled out any group, including elements opposed to the military junta. Last night Thai government spokesman Major General Weerachon Sukhontapatipak told the BBC that the authorities were ‘quite close’ to identifying the suspect.
He added that no motive was being ruled out, but that the character of the bombing was ‘quite different’ from previous attacks, which were carried out by southern Thai insurgents.
The Foreign Office has not raised its travel alert for Thailand, but advised Britons there to check its website for latest updates and urged people to ‘monitor news reports, follow the advice of local authorities and take extra care’.