Three killed, 43 wounded in bomb blasts

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 February 2000, 17:59 GMT]
Three people were killed and 43 others wounded when 2 bombs exploded in busses in Colombo this evening, police sources said.

The first bomb went off in a bus parked at the Pettah bus terminal around 10.40 p.m. One person was killed and 16 were wounded, three of them seriously, the sources said. The bus was bound for Welimada from Colombo.

Immediately the Sri Lanka Army and Police cordoned the entire bus stand area and started checking the people in the area. Bus services to Kalmunai, Batticaloa and Bibile were cancelled.

Several passengers in the Batticaloa and Kalmunai buses were taken in for questioning by the security forces, sources said.

The second blast went off few minutes later, in a bus at Mapole, about 10 km. north of Colombo. Two people were killed and 27 were wounded, the police said. One of the wounded is in serious condition, hospital sources said.