|
Bali death toll soars
KUTA, Indonesia (CNN) --Indonesian
officials say at least 182 people are dead after a series of
nearly-simultaneous bomb blasts on the tourist island of Bali.
More than 250 people are injured, many with severe burns,
stretching local hospital and medical facilities beyond coping
point.
Indonesian authorities are investigating whether the
explosions were the work of terrorists with initial evidence
suggesting they may have been car bomb attacks.
The deadly explosions tore through two popular nightclubs
late Saturday in the Kuta Beach tourist area, a destination
popular with international visitors. (Bali's
nightmare)
According to Robert Koster, a journalist on the scene, a
blast occurred at one nightclub and then, as people streamed
out, another larger blast tore through the Sari Club, which is
usually crowded with tourists.
Koster said an entire city block was destroyed by the blast
and subsequent fire that swept through the area.
Among the dead, injured and missing are nationals from
Australia, Britain, France, Germany, New Zealand, Sweden and
Indonesia.
Briton confirmed dead
At least one Briton has been confirmed killed and 18 others
injured, the British Foreign Office said. The victim's families
had been informed, but no further details were released.
Twelve of the injured Britons have left hospital and six are
still being treated, although there was no immediate word on
their condition.
Another explosion occurred around the same time near the U.S.
consular office on the island. It resulted in no immediate
reports of casualties. Police believe it was a coordinated
attack.
"If you look at the number of victims, this was
indiscriminate and there is indeed a possibility this was
terrorism," Indonesian police chief Dai Bachtiar told reporters
before leaving Jakarta for Bali.
"It does look as though a terrorist organization was
involved, and secondly it clearly looks as though this attack
has been coordinated, and it clearly looks like an attack
against foreign interests," Australian Foreign Minister
Alexander Downer told Australian Broadcasting Corp. television.
As yet there has been no claim of responsibility for the
blasts.
Charred beyond recognition
Police are still clearing the scene and expect the death
count to rise further.
At local hospitals, there were scenes of horror and grief
with relatives and friends desperately searching for loved ones.
(Medical
team rushed to Bali)
Identifying victims has proven difficult with many bodies
charred beyond recognition. Only three bodies have been
identified.
Bali is a popular holiday destination and particularly
popular with Australians. Many of the tourists in Bali over the
weekend were attending an international rugby tournament.
Downer said that he believed many Australians were killed in
the blasts and about 40 were already hospitalized with 15
seriously injured.
"How many Australians are involved in those who have died, we
don't have any numbers on that at all," he said. (Full
story)
Downer said the Australian air force was sending a medical
assistance and evacuation team to Bali on Sunday to take some of
the injured to hospitals in Australia, and an RAAF aircraft had
left Richmond Air Base in New South Wales.
U.S. embassy sources did not know whether any U.S. tourists
were among the casualties in the disco explosion.
Eyewitness accounts
An official with the American Chamber of Commerce said the
explosion rattled windows at least 6 miles (10 km) away.
The blast "felt like an earthquake," Arian Ardie, a vice
president of the organization, told CNN.
Eyewitnesses spoke of chaos in the area after the explosion
at the Sari nightclub as tourists were reveling on a typical
Saturday night.
One eyewitness said windows on shops had been blown out
hundreds of yards (meters) away.
"I saw one man, who looked Indonesian, whose head had been
blown off," a local photographer, Murdani Usman, told Reuters
news agency.
It was not clear whether the explosions in Bali were related
to an earlier blast Saturday at the Philippine Consulate in the
port city of Manado on North Sulawesi Island that caused minor
damage but no injuries. Police Lt. Col. Henjke Kuwara said the
small explosive device had been planted at the fence of
building.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility in the attack
in the Philippines. Manado is a transit point to the southern
Philippines, close to where the Islamic militant Abu Sayyaf
group is active.
Blasts follow warnings
There had been warnings recently from the U.S. Embassy in
Jakarta of possible violence linked to extremist Muslim groups.
Some critics say Indonesia is the weakest link in the
U.S.-led war on terror in Southeast Asia, partly because the
government has concerns about cracking down on radical Muslim
groups for fear of upsetting the vast moderate mainstream.
The U.S. State Department has had a travel warning in effect
for Indonesia for more than a year, but Bali had been widely
considered insulated from the troubles plaguing much of the rest
of the archipelago. The warning specifically mentions Aceh, West
Timor, Irian Jaya, and others.
The Bush administration is monitoring the situation and is in
touch with the Indonesian authorities, a White House official
told CNN.
On Thursday, the State Department warned posts abroad about
the possibility of a terrorist attack by Osama bin Laden's
terrorist network, alerting all posts to be at the "highest
level of vigilance," a senior State Department official told
CNN.
The warning followed the release of an audiotape, believed to
be the voice of Ayman al-Zawahiri, one of bin Laden's top
lieutenants, warning of future attacks by al Qaeda.
-- From CNN Correspondent Atika Shubert, Journalist Robert
Koster and White House Correspondent Kelly Wallace. |
