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| Sunday, 9 February 2003 |
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Huge blast kills 9 at elite Colombian club BOGOTA, Colombia, Saturday (Reuters) A powerful explosion wrecked one of the Colombian capital Bogota's most exclusive clubs on Friday, killing at least nine people and injuring more than 100, authorities said. Police and firefighters said the explosion was caused by a car bomb placed by unidentified attackers inside a parking on the third floor of the Club Nogal, which is a gathering place for the war-torn nation's elite and foreign diplomats. But Bogota's mayor did not rule out the possibility of an explosion in a boiler. The blast ripped off the facade of the multistory club building in an exclusive neighborhood of the Bogota. The U.S. ambassador's residence is just nearby. Witnesses saw many people trapped inside the building as orange flames soared into the night sky and smoke billowed from windows and the roof. Large pools of blood, some trailed with handprints, lay outside the building on a residential street. Smartly dressed club members and staff staggered from the building coughing for breath. Dazed survivors lined up for ambulance crews to give them a turn on oxygen masks. "There are nine people dead and at least 114 wounded," a senior Bogota police officer who was inside the building and asked not to be named told Reuters. "We don't know yet if it was a car bomb or an explosion in a boiler," Bogota Mayor Antanas Mockus told Reuters. Earlier, a fire service spokesman told Reuters: "It was a car bomb. There must be a lot of dead." There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast. Colombia is torn by a 4-decade-old war that pits leftist rebels against outlawed right-wing paramilitary groups and the U.S.-backed military. The war claims thousands of lives every year. SCENES OF CHAOS Witnesses saw rescue workers, breathing through oxygen masks, carrying away wounded people, many with deep cuts and covered in blood. Rescuers prevented survivors who tried to get back into the building to help friends of relatives trapped inside. One man, dressed in a soot-covered business suit, screamed to firefighters: "My daughter, my daughter is inside!" The blast, which occurred at about 8:10 p.m. (0110 GMT on Saturday), laid waste to the plush brick building, which boasts some of Bogota's finest restaurants, a hotel, conference rooms, pools, squash courts and even a terrace golf driving range. "It was a loud explosion. I was in the bar on the fifth floor. There was a lot of smoke. I was choking. I was lucky and jumped through a window and onto the roof of a house nearby," student Esteban Jaramillo told Reuters. Many people were still trapped on the fifth and seventh floors, rescue workers said. Friday is a popular night at Club Nogal. Debris littered the road outside and windows were shattered blocks away. Police ordered the evacuation of nearby buildings and told people to get off the streets as shards of glass fell. Witnesses reported hearing a strong explosion miles away. On its English-language Web site (www.clubelnogal.com), the club, which costs thousands of dollars to join, boasts of offering "the privilege of having it all." |
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