Police officers stand in front of Bombay Bhel restaurant, where two unidentified men set off a bomb late Thursday night, wounding more than a dozen people, in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada May 25, 2018. REUTERS/Mark Blinch
At least 15 people were injured following an explosion caused by a homemade bomb which ripped through an Indian restaurant where children were present for family parties at a mall in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga, Canadian police said.
According to police, two suspects with their faces covered to conceal their identity entered the Bombay Bhel restaurant late Thursday, dropped the improvised explosive device and fled.
Peel Regional Sergeant Matt Bertram said an object resembling a pail or paint can was carried into the restaurant by one of the suspects in his hand.“There is no indication that this is a terrorism act. There is no indication that this is a hate crime at this time. We haven’t ruled anything out as we start our investigation,” said Peel Regional Police Chief Jennifer Evans.
The blast comes a month after a driver plowed his white Ryder rental van into a lunch-hour crowd in Toronto, killing 10 people and injuring 15.
For those who don't know, the explosion took place just after 10:30 pm on Thursday and the plaza where the restaurant is located was still sealed off on Friday. Television footage showed an injured woman limping away from the restaurant, reports AP.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has condemned the blast at an Indian restaurant in Canada's Ontario province in which at least 15 people were injured. Expressing pain and shock over the incident, Singh said that the dastardly attack on innocent people was unjustifiable and unpardonable, and underscored the gravity of the problem of terrorism. "The incident, which comes just a month after 10 pedestrians were mowed to death by a van driver in Toronto, has once again highlighted the global dimensions of terrorism," Singh said in a statement here.
He said that it shows that no nation was immune or safe from this menace. The chief minister expressed concern over the fact that the blast was targeted at an Indian restaurant, which was frequented mainly by the large Indian community in the area.
-PTI
The attack in Mississauga comes a month after a driver plowed his white Ryder rental van into a lunch-hour crowd in Toronto, killing 10 people and injuring 15, reports Reuters.
"Regarding the bomb blast in an Indian restaurant in Mississauga, our Consul General in Toronto has visited the hospital and confirmed that the three Indian-Canadians who were reported to be critically injured are stable now," ANI quotes India's High Commissioner to Canada Vikas Swarup as saying.
'Nothing was said by these individuals,'' Bertram said, adding, 'It appears they just went in, dropped off this device, and took off right away.'' He said they couldn't say what the device was yet.
"Different callers called in and said it was firecrackers or some said gunshot sort of noises. I don't think it was an explosion that was rocking anything,'' police said, adding, "Until we can get in there and analyze the material after the search warrant we won't be able to say what it was.''
Peel Region Sergeant Matt Bertram said two suspects with their faces covered to conceal their identity entered the Bombay Bhel restaurant, and dropped some sort of improvised explosive device (IED) device and fled. "We have no indication to call it a hate crime or any kind of terrorism act," Bertram said, according to AP.
The injured are being treated at a trauma centre. Their injuries were "consistent with those of an explosion," said Brian Gibson, deputy chief at Peel Regional Paramedic Services, Reuters reported.
Nadir Patel, the Canadian High Commissioner to India, has said that his office is closely monitoring the situation. "We are following closely reports of an explosion at an Indian restaurant in #Mississauga, Ontario. At this time, our thoughts are with those injured in the blast and wishing for their speedy recovery," he said on Twitter.
Andre Larrivee, who lives in a nearby condo, said he was watching television and heard a loud explosion. "It was really loud," he said, comparing the noise to an electric generator that had exploded at a nearby construction site recently, The Associated Press reported.
The Indian Consulate in Toronto has launched a telephone helpline in view of the blast. The helpline number given below has been confirmed by MEA Sushma Swaraj.
A police officer looks inside the Bombay Bhel restaurant, where two unidentified men set off a bomb (Photo: Reuters)
The glass of the restaurant was shattered with the force of the blast. (Photo: Reuters)
Minister for Foreign Affairs Sushma Swaraj has confirmed the news and said that she is in touch with the Consulate General in Toronto as well as the Indian Ambassador in Canada. In a tweet, she also shared an emergency number: +1-647-668-4108.
One of the men used paint cans to hide the IED device, news reports claimed sources as saying.
The shopping plaza in which the blast took place has been cordoned off for further investigations, Peel Regional Police said. Seen here is a police officer in front of the Bombay Bhel restaurant, where two unidentified men set off a bomb late Thursday night, (Photo: Reuters)
A massive manhunt is underway for the two suspects who fled the scene after placing an IED device inside the restaurant in Mississauga. Reports say that a possible terror angle is also being investigated.
Police investigate the scene of the blast with sniffer dogs to help ascertain the presence of more IED devices. (Photo: Jeremy Cohn/Twitter)
The suburb of Mississauga is in Lake Ontario. It is located almost 20 miles towards the west of Toronto city. Mississauga is the sixth largest city of Canada.
Police are on the lookout for the two suspects who fled the scene after detonating an IED device inside the Indian restaurant, reports say.
No group has claimed responsibility for as yet for the explosion.
The blast occurred at 10:30 pm ET. The police say they are not sure how many people were inside the restaurant when the blast occurred.
Two male suspects were seen fleeing the scene after detonating a bomb at the Bombay Bhel restaurant in Canada's Toronto city, news agency Reuters quoted police.
Peel Regional Police says that two suspects detonated an IED device inside the restaurant. They added that three of the injured persons were in critical condition. They have been taken to the Toronto Trauma Centre, they said.
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