The death toll from the New Year's Eve bombs rose to three early yesterday when a man seriously hurt at Victory Monument died in a nearby hospital.

Nine foreigners were among the injured when two bombs exploded in the second series of attacks near CentralWorld, just moments after the New Year started.

Their Majesties the King and Queen sent flowers to the patients and the medical teams which treated them at Rajvithi hospital. HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn personally visited the injured at Rajvithi and Chulalongkorn hospitals yesterday.

Four Hungarians, three Serbians and two Britons were rushed to hospital after one bomb wrecked a phone booth at the pedestrian flyover linking CentralWorld shopping mall and Gaysorn Plaza.

Seemingly oblivious to the fact that New Year celebrations had been cancelled because of the six bombs set off several hours earlier, the nine tourists were among scores of foreigners hanging around Central World hoping to join in a countdown.

Just a few minutes before the bomb at the phone booth went off, there was an explosion in front of the Best Sea Foods restaurant by the Saen Saeb Canal near Pratunam.

Altogether eight bombs were set off in mostly inner-city locations.

"All I saw was what looked like a flash. My left ear just went out with the blast," said Paul Hewitt of Horsham, England, who was rushed to the Police General Hospital.

"When I looked down, I saw blood on my shirt. I thought, 'what the hell happened?' " he said.

At 1am yesterday morning, police also disposed of another bomb at the Lumpini Night Bazaar before it exploded.

At Phramongkutklao Hospital, the death of Ekhachai Ruepoom, 26, brought the number of fatalities to three. Ekhachai was seriously injured in the Victory Monument blast.

The other two who died on Sunday night were Songkran Kanja-na, 36, and Suwitchai Nak-iem, 61. Songkran was caught in the Victory Monument blast and Suwitchai was killed by the explosion near a Chinese spirit shrine in the Klong Toei area. He was the shrine's keeper.

His wife Srilak U-naikan yesterday picked up her husband's corpse at the Police General Hospital. The widow was in tears, urging those behind the blasts to stop the violence against innocent people.

"I don't know who did it or which faction they are from but they shouldn't have done it because it has led to a loss of life among innocent people," she said.

"Good people were killed, and most importantly the person whom I love was one of them. I would like to convey my condolences to the others who have been affected and would like the masterminds to stop what they're doing because it will only lead to more losses."

Kwanjira Kajana, a relative of Songkran yesterday came to pick up his body at Ramathibodi Hospital. She said Songkran was the single breadwinner for his family and was looking after his elderly parents in Uttradit province. His mother is paralysed.

"I would like the person who did it to stop and think about how much loss it is causing and whether some people who died had to look after others or not. Like Songkran who became a victim, he had the responsibility of caring for his parents. But he was killed without committing any wrong, so how will his family survive? Please do not do it anymore," Kwanjira said.

Kwanjira received Bt15,000 relief from the Interior Ministry and Bt10,000 from Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin for organising his funeral rite.

The eight explosions on Sunday night in Bangkok injured 37 people of whom 21 remained in hospital. Five of the injured are being treated at Rajvithi Hospital, one at Phramongkutklao Hospital, seven at Chulalongkorn Hospital, one at Saint Louis Hospital, two at Bumrungrad Hospital, three at Police General Hospital and two at Ramathibodi Hospital.

Public Health Minister Dr Mongkol na Songkhla said he was worried the bombings would create panic among the public. He ordered the Mental Health Department to open a hotline, number 1323, to provide counselling for anyone who might feel they are under pressure.