Three dead and over 100 injured after explosions in Boston

By Greg Holden

Three people have died and over 100 are injured at the Boston Marathon, after two bombs went off near the finish line.

At 4:09 into the race, at 2:50 p.m., two explosions went off 50 to 100 meters each other in what the Governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, described as ”a horrific day in Boston”. Bricks and blood littered the streets in the aftermath, many victims are reported to have lost limbs, one witness said he saw someone lose both of their legs.

A third bomb was reported by the police commissioner. However investigation revealed it was just a fire and is unrelated to the scene.

The ATF bomb squad, the National Guard, the FBI and state police are on the scene assisting local officials.

One person from Chatham was in the race, Kim Wood finished the race about a half-hour before the explosions and reported on Twitter that she and her husband Matt are both safe. No Canadians were injured or killed in the attack.

There is an increase in security in New York City and in Washington D.C. A no-fly zone has been put in place over the site of the explosions, it had a 3 mile radius and since was reduced to 2.

The Commissioner of the Boston police, Ed Davis, said “All victims have been removed from the scene. We are not certain that all the explosions are related but we are treating them as if they are”. Davis added that bags were left by people running away from the scene and all of them are being treated as suspicious. There was no warning and they have no suspects at this time. “You can come to your own conclusions based on the events of today”, said Davis.

Some observers commented that it is a mark of Al Qaeda to have simultaneous bombs go off, others noted that the homegrown bombings in Oklahoma City and Waco took place at around this time of April. The colour of the smoke in the explosion leans people to conclude it is a smaller terrorist group, however at this stage confusion reigns.

There were an estimated 500,000 people on the streets cheering on the runners at the time of the explosion. 20,000 spectators were in the immediate vicinity of the explosion. Police are advising people to stay at home or go to their hotel and not congregate in large groups.

The story is unfolding. This article was posted at 5:40 p.m., updated at 2:45 a.m.

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