CHIANG MAI, Thailand — Two fake improvised explosive devices were found in a trash can near the entrance to the Myanmar Embassy’s visa section in Bangkok on Monday morning.
The area was closed while Thailand’s bomb squad investigated. Embassy services stopped for about three hours.
Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) released a statement on Facebook that read: “It was a fake bomb, in which the plastic pipes and watch were taped and inside the plastic was rice.“
Myanmar authorities are cautious about the security of the embassy and its staff, the statement continued.
U Moe Aung Khine, the labor attaché from the Myanmar Embassy, told The Irrawaddy that the device it was found around 9 a.m. and Thai police were informed. The bomb squad confirmed that it was an improvised device but that there was no need to worry just before noon.
Hundreds of Myanmar migrant workers had been in line for various services, some picking up passports or applying for visa extensions.
Ko Johny, a migrant worker from Chiang Mai who was at the embassy to pick up his passport, told The Irrawaddy: “We were shocked. If something had exploded, many people inside and outside of the embassy could have been hurt.”
He was relieved when police assured that everything was “fine and back to normal,” and continued to wait for his passport.
Thai police currently do not have any information regarding suspects, but said they would check CCTV footage and investigate.
