AUSTRALIANS AND OTHERS ON THE BANGKOK BOMB BLAST:
"I had the pram with the grandson ... walking past the shrine would have been very difficult because it's a bumpy road. So I said to the kids 'follow me, I'll take you this other way'." - A last-minute decision by Aussie rocker Jimmy Barnes not to walk past the shrine on the way to dinner may have saved his family.
"Bodies still covered on road, terrible, so sad." - Barnes's wife Jane tweets about witnessing the aftermath.
"We literally got blasted back from the impact. We got struck by shrapnel and debris. It was very surreal to go down after and to see the bodies of the people, to see people injured." - Australian John Murray, who like the Barnes family, was on an overhead walkway when the blast struck.
"All you could see was fire burning, people screaming. After the blast it was so scary, especially seeing bodies and limbs and motorbikes on fire and the smell - the smell of burning ..." - Melbourne man Hussain Masri.
"It was like a meat market. There were bodies everywhere. Some were shredded. There were legs where heads were supposed to be. I haven't seen injuries like that in my life before." - New Zealander Marko Cunningham, a paramedic working in Bangkok.
"At this stage we have no information that Australians are among the deceased or seriously injured." - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
"The thoughts of all Australians are with the injured and the families of those who have lost their lives through this dreadful act." - Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
"It was a TNT bomb ... the people who did it targeted foreigners and to damage tourism and the economy." - Thai Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwong.
"The bomb aimed at killing as many people as possible as the shrine is crowded at around 6 to 7pm." - Thai police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri.
"I saw bodies lying on the ground and I saw vehicles on fire. I feel very sad and sorry that this has happened to Thai people ... I'm scared." Bangkok hotel worker Panupan Chansing.
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