'Twenty dead' in Bogota blast
2003-02-08 10:37
Bogota - Twenty people were killed and more than 100 injured when a car bomb exploded at an exclusive club frequented by the capital's political and social elite, Colombia officials said.
Authorities accused rebels with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) of being behind the attack. The leftist group has been at war with the Colombian state for four decades.
The nine-story El Nogal club, located in an upmarket neighbourhood in northern Bogota, was a favorite hangout for politicans and a frequent venue for upscale meetings.
The club - which had luxurious meeting rooms, a squash court, swimming pool, sauna, hotel and several restaurants - was packed with guests when the bomb exploded.
The blast, which occurred at 03:15 on Saturday, hurled debris onto vehicles that were passing on a nearby avenue, one of the city's most important arteries. About 100 vehicles in the blast area were destroyed, officials said.
A wedding was being held at the club at the time of the blast, and several children were on the top floor, according to club employees.
Survivors said that club guests were trapped on different floors, under rubble and inside elevators.
For two hours firefighters battled a blaze sparked by the blast that threatened to spread to neighbouring buildings, which include the Peruvian embassy and the homes of the ambassadors of Spain and Italy.
Rescuers worked through the night searching for bodies in the rubble.
The attackers used a vehicle loaded with more than 200 kilos of dynamite, Mockus told reporters, noting the size of the crater in the indoor parking lot.
Mockus put the death toll at 20, though police and other officials refused to give a toll beyond an early announcement of 10 dead and 120 injured.
The mayor offered a reward of US$165 000 for information on those behind the attacks.
The world asked to help Colombia
A worried President Alvaro Uribe toured the devastated area around 07:00 on Saturday accompanied by top officials.
Uribe pleaded for help from the world to squash terrorism in Colombia, and asked foreign countries to offer no support to the rebels.
Just as the United Nations is discussing the Iraq situation, "the world has to take a decision to help Colombia", Uribe said.
Colombia needs help from the "democratic countries" of the world "to help our security forces defeat the terrorists", he said.
German Camacho, who heads the anti-terrorism unit at the attorney general's office, blamed the FARC for carrying out the attack.
Neither the FARC nor a smaller leftist rebel group have acknowledged being behind the blast.
"This is part of an increase in terrorist activity," said attorney general Luis Camilo Osorio. "This is terrorism, pure, simple and cowardly."
Earlier in the day national police chief Teodoro Campo announced that his officers had arrested two alleged rebels, confiscated explosives, and thwarted a string of planned city bombings.
The club has often been associated with Fernando Londono, who was El Nogal's president until he became Uribe's interior minister in August 2002. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA