UNITED STATES: Explosion Rocks New York Subway, Wounding 30
NEW YORK, Dic 21 (IPS) - Rescue workers rushed more than 30 persons to the hospital after an incendiary device exploded Wednesday afternoon in the New York City subway system.
Early police reports indicated that the explosive was planted on a train bound for Brooklyn from Manhattan. The device went off near Wall Street, home of the U.S. stock exchange and the city's financial hub.
Police refused to characterise the device as a bomb, referring to it instead as an "incendiary device."
New York police chief William Bratton said it appeared to be "a glass jar filled with a flammable liquid, ignited by an external lighter" -- something similar to a Molotov cocktail. He said the jar was apparently lit by a passenger on the train, who promptly fled.
Responding to rumours that as many as three explosives may have been planted on the train, Bratton said that police had found no additional devices.
A joint terrorist task force formed by the New York Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) immediately began an investigation of the explosion.
Witnesses paint a sketchy picture of the events leading up to the blast. Several say they saw two men leave a package on the Brooklyn-bound subway and then run from the train.
Shortly afterward, a huge blast tore through the train. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said 31 people have been reported injured, four of them critically. The blast caused little structural damage.
Of those immediately admitted to local hospitals, most were reported to be suffering from smoke inhalation and minor burns. Three of the injured are New York police officers.
Giuliani urged calm, noting that facts in the case remain sketchy. "At this point, there is no cause for alarm," he said.
No clear indication has yet emerged of who may be responsible for the explosion, which is the first such attack on a vital city installation since a bomb ripped through the bottom floors of the nearby World Trade Centre on Feb. 26, 1993.
But a possible suspect, who remains anonymous, was seized by police for questioning within hours of the blast. "An individual has been found on the Brooklyn side (of the subway line) with significant burns," and police are waiting to question him further, Bratton said.
© Inter Press Service (2014) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service