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Death toll in Boston explosions rises to 3, at least 134 injured
Source: Agencies |
April 16, 2013, Tuesday
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Two bombs exploded in the packed streets near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing three people and injuring more than 130 in a terrifying scene of shattered glass, bloodstained pavement and severed limbs at the world's oldest and most prestigious marathon, Associated Press reported.
Boston police reportedly said three people were killed. Hospitals reported at least 134 injured, at least 15 of them critically. The injuries ranged from cuts and bruises to amputations. Many victims suffered lower leg injuries and shrapnel wounds. Some suffered ruptured eardrums.
A senior U.S. intelligence official said two other bombs were found near the end of the 26.2-mile (42-kilometer) course.
US President Barack Obama vowed that those responsible will "feel the full weight of justice."
A White House official speaking on condition of anonymity told Associated Press that because the investigation was still unfolding said the attack was being treated as an act of terrorism.
The fiery twin blasts took place almost simultaneously and about 100 yards (meters) apart, knocking spectators and at least one runner off their feet, shattering windows and sending dense plumes of smoke rising over the street and through the fluttering national flags lining the course.
When the second bomb went off, the spectators' cheers turned to screams. As sirens blared, emergency workers and National Guardsmen assigned to the race for crowd control began climbing over and tearing down temporary fences to get to the blast site.
A pool of blood formed, and huge shards were missing from window panes as high as three stories.
"They just started bringing people in with no limbs," said runner Tim Davey, of Virginia. He said he and his wife, Lisa, tried to keep their children's eyes shielded from the gruesome scene inside a medical tent that had been set up to care for fatigued runners, but "they saw a lot."
Some 23,000 runners took part in the race, which attracts more than 500,000 spectators and winds up in the heart of central Boston, near the landmark Prudential Center and the Boston Public Library. It is held on Patriots Day, a Massachusetts state holiday which commemorates the first battles of the American Revolution in 1775.
"We still don't know who did this or why," Obama said, adding, "Make no mistake: We will get to the bottom of this."
A woman who was near the second bomb, Brighid Wall, 35, said that when it exploded, runners and spectators froze, unsure of what to do. Her husband threw their children to the ground, lay on top of them and another man lay on top of them and said, "Don't get up, don't get up."
She said she saw six to eight people bleeding profusely, including one man who was kneeling, dazed, with blood coming down his head. Another person was on the ground covered in blood and not moving.
"My ears are zinging. Their ears are zinging. It was so forceful. It knocked us to the ground."
Competitors and race volunteers were crying as they fled the chaos. Authorities went onto the course to carry away the injured while race stragglers were rerouted away from the smoking site.
Roupen Bastajian, a 35-year-old state police officer from the neighboring state of Rhode Island, had just finished the race when they put the heat blanket wrap on him and he heard the blasts.
"I started running toward the blast. And there were people all over the floor," he said. "We started grabbing tourniquets and started tying legs. A lot of people amputated. ... At least 25 to 30 people have at least one leg missing, or an ankle missing, or two legs missing."
Boston police reportedly said three people were killed. Hospitals reported at least 134 injured, at least 15 of them critically. The injuries ranged from cuts and bruises to amputations. Many victims suffered lower leg injuries and shrapnel wounds. Some suffered ruptured eardrums.
A senior U.S. intelligence official said two other bombs were found near the end of the 26.2-mile (42-kilometer) course.
US President Barack Obama vowed that those responsible will "feel the full weight of justice."
A White House official speaking on condition of anonymity told Associated Press that because the investigation was still unfolding said the attack was being treated as an act of terrorism.
The fiery twin blasts took place almost simultaneously and about 100 yards (meters) apart, knocking spectators and at least one runner off their feet, shattering windows and sending dense plumes of smoke rising over the street and through the fluttering national flags lining the course.
When the second bomb went off, the spectators' cheers turned to screams. As sirens blared, emergency workers and National Guardsmen assigned to the race for crowd control began climbing over and tearing down temporary fences to get to the blast site.
A pool of blood formed, and huge shards were missing from window panes as high as three stories.
"They just started bringing people in with no limbs," said runner Tim Davey, of Virginia. He said he and his wife, Lisa, tried to keep their children's eyes shielded from the gruesome scene inside a medical tent that had been set up to care for fatigued runners, but "they saw a lot."
Some 23,000 runners took part in the race, which attracts more than 500,000 spectators and winds up in the heart of central Boston, near the landmark Prudential Center and the Boston Public Library. It is held on Patriots Day, a Massachusetts state holiday which commemorates the first battles of the American Revolution in 1775.
"We still don't know who did this or why," Obama said, adding, "Make no mistake: We will get to the bottom of this."
A woman who was near the second bomb, Brighid Wall, 35, said that when it exploded, runners and spectators froze, unsure of what to do. Her husband threw their children to the ground, lay on top of them and another man lay on top of them and said, "Don't get up, don't get up."
She said she saw six to eight people bleeding profusely, including one man who was kneeling, dazed, with blood coming down his head. Another person was on the ground covered in blood and not moving.
"My ears are zinging. Their ears are zinging. It was so forceful. It knocked us to the ground."
Competitors and race volunteers were crying as they fled the chaos. Authorities went onto the course to carry away the injured while race stragglers were rerouted away from the smoking site.
Roupen Bastajian, a 35-year-old state police officer from the neighboring state of Rhode Island, had just finished the race when they put the heat blanket wrap on him and he heard the blasts.
"I started running toward the blast. And there were people all over the floor," he said. "We started grabbing tourniquets and started tying legs. A lot of people amputated. ... At least 25 to 30 people have at least one leg missing, or an ankle missing, or two legs missing."
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