Large explosion rocks central Bangkok intersection at rush hour, cause unknown

Motorcycles are strewn about after an explosion in Bangkok, Monday, Aug. 17, 2015. A large explosion rocked a central Bangkok intersection during the evening rush hour, killing a number of people and injuring others, police said. (AP Photo/Jerry Harmer) (The Associated Press)

Motorcycles are strewn about after an explosion in Bangkok, Monday, Aug. 17, 2015. A large explosion rocked a central Bangkok intersection during the evening rush hour, killing a number of people and injuring others, police said. (AP Photo/Jerry Harmer) (The Associated Press)

Officials close off an intersection after an explosion in Bangkok, Monday, Aug. 17, 2015. A large explosion rocked a central Bangkok intersection during the evening rush hour, killing a number of people and injuring others, police said. (AP Photo/Sackchai Lalit) (The Associated Press)

A large explosion has rocked a central Bangkok intersection during the evening rush hour, killing at least one person and injuring an unknown number of others.

The cause of Monday's explosion, which sounded like a loud thunderclap to people living nearby, was not immediately known.

An Associated Press reporter at the scene said he saw one body and body parts, and two people taken into ambulances.

The explosion took place at the Rajprasong intersection, which was the center of many contentious political demonstrations in recent years. It appeared to have occurred in front of the Erawan Shrine, a tourist landmark also popular with Thais.