Australians trapped in hotel amid Thai clashes
Updated
Three have been killed as the fighting between Red Shirt protesters and government forces continued to escalate. (AFP: Nicolas Asfouri)
A group of Australians is trapped in an area of central Bangkok that is now locked down by fighting between protesters and government forces.
The tourists are trapped in the Pan Pacific Hotel which is now in an area that has been locked down by soldiers.
There is heavy fighting in the street in front of the hotel which is adjacent to the red shirts' rally site in the city centre.
The group cannot leave due to shooting and explosions.
ABC News Online has received graphic photos of people dead and bloodied in the Bangkok streets.
The current official death toll is 16 with 141 injured, but that will rise. One child has been killed.
There is increasing fear about snipers shooting people from above.
Red shirt leaders have called on their supporters in rural areas to come into the city.
They say they want to re-open negotiations, but the government says it will not talk until the protestors end their rally.
Prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has not been seen in the media since before the army moved in.
Meanwhile, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) continues to advise those planning trips to Thailand to reconsider, due to the volatile political situation in the country.
First posted
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