DENPASAR (JP): The number of casualties from the blasts in
Indonesia's Bali tourist island continued to grow, with the latest
report saying 60 had been confirmed dead by 1:42 a.m.
Meanwhile hospitals here were busy treating the wounded. At
Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar alone around 160 people had been
brought in. Two more hospitals, the Army Hospital on Jl. Sudirman
and Graha Asih Hospital in Nusa Dua tourist resort, had received
20 victims each.
Many more bodies were expected to be found from under the
rubble of destroyed buildings.
The blast on Jl. Legian in the crowded Kuta tourist resort had
also caused fire, which spread to neighboring buildings. At 1:48
a.m. fire fighters were still trying to put out the fire.
Police meanwhile said the first blast that occurred in Renon,
south of here, was quite far from the U.S. consulate general.
Earlier reports said it was near the U.S. consulate general. No
casualties or damage were reported from the Renon blast, which
police described as minor.
"The blast took place on the side of the road and there
was no one injured because the home-made bomb was apparently
thrown and exploded some 250 meters from the U.S. consulate
general," Bali Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Suyatmo said.
The larger explosion on Jl. Legian was suspected to have come
from a car bomb. The car was allegedly parked at Bank Panin.
The blast badly damaged both the Padi Club and the Sari Club
across the street, a popular hangout of foreign tourists, damaging
several cars parked on the street.
"I believe that the blast was caused by a home-made
bomb," Suyatmo told AFP.
Meanwhile many foreign tourists had left their hotels to visit
hospitals in search of news of their relatives and families.
Many of the victims were foreigners holidaying in the tourist
island.
Indonesia has been rocked by a series of bomb blast, but until
last night Bali had remained unaffected.
