CentralWorld Mall, Bangkok, burns - 19 May 2010

The end hadn't come peacefully though, and the surrender of the UDD leaders coupled with the army crashing through the camp's perimeter had unleashed a frenzy of violence in the form of arson and looting of the city centre. Having spent a month pitched up and sleeping in the shadow of the glittering CentralWorld mall, the biggest shopping complex in Thailand and the second-largest in Asia, a core of the Reds had vented their rage and fury at their defeat today against its towering steel-and-glass façade. Holes were punched in the huge interlocking glass panes that chased right down to the pavement, and the large sign that faced the intersection was charred and burnt, while huge plumes of smoke wreathed the office tower that juts out of the top of the mall above Zen. The source of the billowing smoke wasn't hard to find: the corner of the complex nearest the Centara Grand was on fire, bright flames flickered behind the Zen sign and the whole scene, crackled, popped and banged as glass panes shattered, and its extensive infrastructure and framework of steel, burnt and twisted in the heat, or warped and broke away in chunks that smashed downwards into the fiery furnace. A lone protestor, seemingly unconcerned by the chaos unfolding around him, is absorbed in eating food at a table, providing a small but allmost surreal moment. Reports were also coming in that elsewhere there was more arson taking place: the Stock Exchange of Thailand building had been burnt along with the offices of Channel 3 television while the Bangkok Post newspaper had hastily evacuated its staff.

Around 5:00 pm the scene at CentralWorld was virtually deserted, the Reds have stopped igniting the fires here and looting the shops and instead had drifted down towards the sanctuary of Wat Pathumwanaram and further on towards the junction of Henri Dunant Road and the Siam Paragon shopping mall. In this direction gunfire could be heard, the battle lines here had been drawn. Dusk was arriving now, the soldiers that had gingerly advanced as far as the Amarin Center had withdrawn and the Reds were starting to drift back from the direction of Siam Paragon and towards the stage, shadowy figures in the gathering dusk and the extra murkiness caused by the plumes of smoke filling the clear blue sky. With the Center for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) having issued an 8:00 pm to 6:00 am curfew across the city tonight it's time to vacant, to leave CentralWorld to burn, and the other journalists and photographers have retraced their steps, so its carefully back along Ploen Chit Road and out of the camp.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• central
• world
• burns
• fire
• bangkok
• centralworld
• mall
• 19
• may
• 2010
• red
• shirts
• udd
• smoke
• arson
• looting
• thailand
• zen
• isetan

[birddragonfire]

หวังว่าซักวันบ้านพวกมึงจะโดนเผ­าแบบนี้บ้าง

[Clarrisani]

The red shirts sure know what to do to lose support.

[lemonbiotch]

ต่ำ เสื่อม บ้านไร้การศึกษา มาประท้วงไม่ว่า แต่มาทำลายบ้านเมืองอย่างนี้ เราไม่ยอม

ตำรวจทำไรอยู่ อยู่ตรงข้ามชัดๆ ทำห่าไรไม่ได้ ไร้ประสิทธิภาพ มีประเทศไหนในโลกที่

สำนักงานตำรวจแห่งชาติอยู่ตรงข้­ามพวกก่อการร้ายแต่ไม่สามารถทำอ­ะไรได้ กองกำลัง

ก็มีเยอะกว่า ยุทโธปากรณ์ก็มีมากกว่าแต่ทำไรไ­ม่ได้ ต้องปล่อยให้ห้างร้านโดนเผา

[sakornno]

@lek1952

I agree with you, if we burn his house and burn him down this situation wont

be like this no more. I'm living far from home but Thailand will allways

be my home and the place I'll return

[sakornno]

Why don't they just burn their house if they want attention so badly

a few yrs ago was muslim from southern who was bombed

and fired thai properties, but now thai people doing this for them??

Come on guys!! Why dont we go back and be friends like the old days??

The red shirt and shit or what ever, If their leader still alive I think the whole Thailand will be burned down pretty soon and think again who will be suffered

in the future if the country continue like this. You and me offcourse!!

[Danifeww]

Mai ru ja pen aray...

Pom wang wa pan ha ti muan thai ja job lew reu reu

Sia jai makk :(

[blackemperor76]

what happened to my beloved thailand....pls stop doing this to each other.

[truthfulfox]

mai pen rai not so bad , lives are more important than shipping malls

[somen59]

Maybe the redshirt bodies are in there and burning with the secret...

[joo2828]

anybody know how about the situation about the four face buddha?

I hope he is okay because the place is close to central world.