INDONESIA: AT LEAST 182 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED AFTER A BOMB RIPPED THROUGH A TOURIST PACKED DISCO IN ISLAND RESORT OF BALI

At least 182 people have been killed, many of them foreigners, after bombs ripped through a packed nightspot on Indonesia's traditionally tranquil tourist island of Bali overnight. The Saturday (October 12, 2002) night blasts, which the United States denounced as a "despicable act of terror", followed persistent reports that Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network was trying to establish a foothold in the world's most populous Muslim nation. Police said the dead included nationals from Australia, Britain, France, Germany and Sweden, but declined to speculate on who might be responsible for the attack in one of the world's most popular tourist destinations. The main blast at the Sari club, one of two explosions, blew a hole in the ground. One visitor said terrified tourists had left their hotel rooms to sleep in open areas or on the beach after the attack. "We were in the hotel, we heard a massive explosion preceded by a very small one. There was a small bang, a very very loud explosion and then just shattering glass everywhere . The windows to the left of us blew out, the windows above us blew out, some of the units at the back the roof caved in there was just a procession of people covered in blood, covered in glass, glass embedded in people, people's backs which have obviously been on fire. It was just horrible", said tourist Richard Poore from New Zealand. Windows were blown out in buildings within a 500-metre (yard) radius of the Sari club and wrecked up to 15 cars whose mangled wreckage littered the streets. Indonesia's president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, who visited the site of the bomb attack on Sunday (October 13), said the latest information showed 182 people, had been killed in the mainly Hindu corner of the country. "First I would like to apologise if we have not done a proper job with peace and security, because we are putting all our efforts into the task at hand now", said Indonesian Police Chief Dai Bachtair as he arrived in Bali to inspect the blast. Some tourists in Bali, long considered a safe haven for tourists, spoke of leaving for home on the first available flights. Airlines officials said some airlines were planning extra flights or or bigger planes. Hospitals in the area are struggling to cope with the number of wounded after the blasts. Many victims are suffering from serious burns and hospital staff have been inundated with concerned relatives trying to find out more information about their kin. Scores of people streamed into hospitals to give blood donations, and neighbouring Australia sent additional medical supplies to to aid the treatment of the bomb blast victims. The blast in Bali coincided with heightened security around the world and followed a bomb blast in Finland, another unlikely target, that killed seven people and wounded dozens. A U.S. embassy statement has condemned the attacks saying its government "condemns in the strongest possible terms this despicable act of terror." U.S. Officials also said the United States is considering the extent of its presence in Indonesian after bombs ripped through a packed nightspot on the country's normally tranquil tourist island of Bali overnight, killing at least 182 people. The smell of burnt flesh hung in the air at the scene. Hospital staff said many dead were charred beyond recognition. Britain slapped a travel warning on Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago where Islam is traditionally moderate and bloody ethnically based separatist violence has seldom targeted foreign nationals. Last week, regional security sources said the United States was considering withdrawing some embassy personnel from Indonesia after a grenade blast in the capital raised questions about Jakarta's ability to provide security. The United States and Singapore, which has detained dozens of people in a crackdown on what it says is a Southeast Asian terror network, have been pressing Indonesia to arrest Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir they describe as a pivotal player in the group. Indonesia says it has no evidence to link Bashir to Jemaah Islamiah, as the group is known and which in turn has been linked to al Qaeda. The United States blames al Qaeda for last year's September 11 attacks on New York and Washington. The U.S. embassy spokeswoman said the third explosion occurred 50 metres (yards) from the honorary U.S. consulate in Sanur, another tourist area about 30 minutes from Kuta. No one was hurt in that incident. Earlier, a suspected home-made bomb knocked over the gate and smashed windows in the compound of the Philippine consulate in the Indonesian city of Manado. No one was hurt. Before dawn on Sunday, flames licked into the air around the rubble of the Sari as tourists carried victims away from the carnage, many half-naked and moaning in pain. Some critics say Indonesia is a weak link in the U.S.-led war on terror in Southeast Asia, adding that the government is reluctant to crack down on radical Muslim groups for fear of upsetting the moderate mainstream. Indonesia is 85 percent Muslim. Bali is particularly popular with Australians and Japanese nationals.

ITN Source | October 14, 2002

Tags:. .inspect. .horrible. .abu. .sweden. .slapped