Eight Killed After Bomb Rocks Busy Sri Lankan Train

by Rob Walker | May 26, 2008 at 08:32 am

423 views | 0 Recommendations | 1 comment

At least eight people were killed and 72 reported injured after a bomb went off in a packed passenger car in Colombo after three bombs were found and diffused on transit over the weekend.

Authorities had been warning those travelling by bus (where the bombs were found) and trains to be watchful.

The train was carrying at least 200 people during the rush hour evening commute, blasting apart a passenger carriage. The Tamil Tigers have been blamed for the recent attacks.

At least eight people have been killed and 67 injured in a bombing during rush hour on a packed Sri Lankan commuter train, the military says.

The blast hit the Colombo-Panadura train in Dehiwala station, in a suburb of the capital Colombo, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.

He blamed Tamil Tiger separatists for the attack, the latest in a string targeting public transport.

Hospital officials said eight bodies had been recovered, among them five women, and that more than 72 people were being treated, mostly for burns.

The island's military spokesman, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, said a pregnant woman was among the dead. He blamed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for the evening rush-hour attack.

State television said about 200 people were on board the train at the time of the bombing, which occurred at Dehiwela railway station in the southern suburbs of Colombo.

A bomb ripped through part of a packed passenger train during evening rush hour Monday, killing eight people and wounding 70 others near the Sri Lankan capital.

Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara blamed Tamil Tiger rebels for the bombing near the railroad station in Dehiwala, about six miles south of Colombo.

Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan did not respond to calls seeking comment but the rebels routinely deny such attacks.