MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday, August 18, confirmed that a Filipina was injured in the explosion in Bangkok that killed at least 20 people.

DFA spokesman Charles Jose said the Filipina suffered a hearing injury because of the explosion.  

Jose said she “is in Bangkok together with the foreign family she is working for,” and will return to her employers’ country soon. The victim “requests that her other personal details not be revealed,” he added in a  text message to reporters Tuesday afternoon. 

The DFA did not confirm the earlier report that a Filipino died in Bangkok on Monday, August 17, in what Thailand’s junta leader described as the “worst ever attack” on the kingdom.

In a statement earlier on Tuesday, the Philippines also condemned the Bangkok blast as an act of terror, and urged Filipinos there to stay out of danger.

“The Philippines deplores the horrific bombing near a popular Hindu temple in Bangkok, where innocent lives have been lost,” Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said in a statement.

‘Intention to sow terror’

“The bombing apparently has the intention to sow terror, and we condemn this act in the strongest terms,” Del Rosario added.

While the explosion killed at least 20 people, police also said it left 123 wounded.

“The bomb aimed at killing as many people as possible as the shrine is crowded at around 6 to 7 pm,” police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri said of the Monday evening attack.

The attack drew quick expressions of grief from around the world. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s office released a statement saying he was shocked.

The Erawan shrine sits at the foot of the 5-star Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel and is surrounded by a string of other large hotels and malls that draw tens of thousands of visitors each day.

Dedicated to the Hindu god Brahma, it is visited by thousands of Buddhist devotees every day, particularly Chinese visitors who travel to Thailand in larger numbers than any other nationality. – with reports from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com