Jakarta hotel bomb kills 10, injures 103
( 2003-08-05 17:06) (Agencies)
A powerful bomb exploded outside the Marriott hotel in downtown Jakarta on Tuesday, killing 10 people and wounding 103 in what an official said was likely a suicide attack. At least one foreigner was reportedly among the dead.
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| Firefighters spray water at the Marriott Hotel where an explosion went off in Jakarta, Indonesia, Aug. 5, 2003. A powerful bomb exploded outside the Marriott hotel in downtown Jakarta, killing 10 people and wounding 103 in what an official said was likely a suicide attack. [AP] |
Shattered glass and puddles of blood covered the ground for two blocks around the hotel, located in the business district near many embassies and a popular place for foreigners to stay.
"People were screaming, panicking," said Sodik, a man who goes by one name who was having lunch on the 27th floor of an adjacent building. "I thought it was an earthquake."
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. But since last year's bombings in Bali, which killed 202 people, authorities have warned that more attacks were likely in Indonesia — possibly by Jemaah Islamiyah, the Southeast Asian terror group linked to the al-Qaida.
Gen. Da'i Bachtiar put the death toll at 10, including one unidentified foreigner, in addition to 100 injured. Officials at several hospitals said they had admitted a total of 103 people with various injuries.
Black smoke billowed from the front of the Marriott, also the site of many diplomatic receptions held by the U.S. Embassy. During the past two years, U.S. officials have held 4th of July celebrations there.
Jakarta governor Sutiyoso, who like many Indonesians uses a single name, said Tuesday bombing was "very likely" carried out by a suicide attacker. He said it killed at least eight people.
An Associated Press photographer on the scene minutes after the blast saw three badly burned bodies lying in the wreckage of a car outside the badly damaged hotel and an adjacent office building called Plaza Mutiara.
Mellanie Solagratia, a spokeswoman for the hotel, said most of the damage appeared to have occurred in the basement and on the second floor. She said the 330room hotel was 77 percent occupied as of Monday.
Police and emergency teams arrived and cordoned off the scene.
Witness Jaganathan Nadeson said he looked out of his window on the 22nd floor after the blast and saw a vehicle engulfed in flames in front of the hotel — apparently the car bomb, he said.
"I heard a big bang and I tried to get out of the building as quickly as possible," said Asroni, a hotel employee, as he picked bits of glass from his uniform. "The smoke was getting into my lungs."
The hotel's lobby plate glass windows were shattered, as were some upper-floor windows. The hotel's lobby was badly damaged, with damaged chairs and tables strewn about. Several cars smoldered outside.
Inside a ground-floor restaurant of an adjacent building, half-eaten pasta dishes sat on tables covered in broken plates and glass.
Ceiling and wall panels were scattered in the street outside the lobby of the hotel, exposing the bare concrete pillars. The building appeared to be structurally intact.
The adjacent Rajawali building houses the embassies of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. None of the staff were injured, officials said.
"In the Swedish Embassy there was shattered glass, and one of the inner ceilings caved in," vice consul Viveca Lofberg said.
Another office worker named Iin said most of the casualties appeared to be security guards who were stationed in front of the Marriott.
"I thought a plane must have hit the building," he said.
Jakarta has seen a number of bombings in recent years as Indonesia grapples with a myriad of security problems and political turmoil.
The blast came two days before a court in Bali was scheduled to deliver its verdict in the trial of Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, who is accused of planning and carrying out the Oct. 12 attacks in Bali.
He is the first of about three dozen suspects to have been tried in the case, and is facing a possible death sentence if found guilty. He and other defendants are allegedly members of the Jemaah Islamiyah.
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