2 Explosions rock Boston Marathon finish line...2 dead, scores injured!

[EMT]

President Obama to speak to the nation in the next few minutes.

 

[EMT]

Mobile phone networks have been shut down in Boston as a precaution to prevent further explosions.

 

[Mwana Mtoka Pabaya]

Loh! Isijekuwa kule anakoshindana mbunge wa Kenya

 

[TIMING]

I hate people who punish innocent victims like this

 

[Natalia]

Wanani wataspin?

Liberals ( msnbc )

 

[EMT]

Liberals ( msnbc )

Looks like you're the one who spinning.

Juzi tuu hapa ulichanganya kati ya liberals na leftists.

Ingekuwa Bush au aliyepigwa bao juzi tayari angekuwa ameshaanza kuspin.

 

[Mlamoto]

Jamani! kwanini dunia hupendi walimwengu. Uchungu ulioje?

 

[Ogah]

Dah poleni sana washikaji wote mlioko pande hiyo.......be strong........

 

[Natalia]

Looks like you're the one who spinning.

Juzi tuu hapa ulichanganya kati ya liberals na leftists.

Ingekuwa Bush au aliyepigwa bao juzi tayari angekuwa ameshaanza kuspin.

I blame bush for this Hahahaha .liberals leo mtasema nini?

 

[Natalia]

Looks like you're the one who spinning.

Juzi tuu hapa ulichanganya kati ya liberals na leftists.

Ingekuwa Bush au aliyepigwa bao juzi tayari angekuwa ameshaanza kuspin.

Leftis are liberals .

 

[Tai Ngwilizi]

Too sad, unyama gani huu!! yaani wamechinja chinja miguu ya watu na kuwafanya viziwi bila huruma, juu ya hiyo serikali inaweza kuingia gharama za kutibu na kutunza viwete, what is all this for?huyo mpiga bomu kapata faida gani sasa??

 

[Candid Scope]

Two bombs exploded in the packed streets near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing two people and injuring more than 130 in a bloody scene of shattered glass and severed limbs that raised alarms that terrorists might have struck again in the U.S. A White House official speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation was still unfolding said the attack was being treated as an act of terrorism.
President Barack Obama vowed that those responsible will "feel the full weight of justice." A senior U.S. intelligence official said two other bombs were found near the end of the 26.2-mile course in what appeared to be a well-coordinated attack.

Authorities shed no light on a motive or who may have carried out the bombings, and police said they had no suspects in custody. Authorities in Washington said there was no immediate claim of responsibility. "They just started bringing people in with no limbs," said runner Tim Davey of Richmond, Va. He said he and his wife, Lisa, tried to keep their children's eyes shielded from the gruesome scene inside a medical tent that had been set up to care for fatigued runners, but "they saw a lot." "They just kept filling up with more and more casualties," Lisa Davey said. "Most everybody was conscious. They were very dazed."

The fiery twin blasts took place almost simultaneously and about 100 yards apart, knocking spectators and at least one runner off their feet, shattering windows and sending dense plumes of smoke rising over the street and through the fluttering national flags lining the course. When the second bomb went off, the spectators' cheers turned to screams. As sirens blared, emergency workers and National Guardsmen who had been assigned to the race for crowd control began climbing over and tearing down temporary fences to get to the blast site. Blood stained the pavement, and huge shards were missing from window panes as high as three stories. Boston police said two people were killed. Hospitals reported at least 134 injured, at least 15 of them critically. The victims' injuries included broken bones, shrapnel wounds and ruptured eardrums. At Massachusetts General Hospital, said Alisdair Conn, chief of emergency services, said: "This is something I've never seen in my 25 years here ... this amount of carnage in the civilian population. This is what we expect from war." Some 23,000 runners took part in the race, one of the world's oldest and most prestigious marathons.

One of Boston's biggest annual events, the race winds up near Copley Square, not far from the landmark Prudential Center and the Boston Public Library. It is held on Patriots Day, which commemorates the first battles of the American Revolution, at Concord and Lexington in 1775. Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis asked people to stay indoors or go back to their hotel rooms and avoid crowds as bomb squads methodically checked parcels and bags left along the race route. He said investigators didn't know whether the bombs were hidden in mailboxes or trash cans. He said authorities had received "no specific intelligence that anything was going to happen" at the race.

The Federal Aviation Administration barred low-flying aircraft within 3.5 miles of the site. "We still don't know who did this or why," Obama said at the White House, adding, "Make no mistake: We will get to the bottom of this." With scant official information to guide them, members of Congress said there was little or no doubt it was an act of terrorism. "We just don't know whether it's foreign or domestic," said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

A few miles away from the finish line and around the same time, a fire broke out at the John F. Kennedy Library. The police commissioner said it may have been caused by an incendiary device but didn't appear to be related to the bombings. The first loud explosion occurred on the north side of Boylston Street, just before the photo bridge that marks the finish line. The second explosion could be heard a few seconds later.
They occurred about four hours into the race and two hours after the men's winner crossed the line. By that point, more than 17,000 of the runners had finished the race, but thousands of others were farther back along the course.

The attack may have been timed for maximum carnage: The four-hour mark is typically a crowded time near the finish line because of the slow-but-steady recreational runners completing the race and because of all the relatives and friends clustered around to cheer them on.
A senior U.S. intelligence official said the two other explosive devices found nearby were being dismantled. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the findings publicly.Runners in the medical tent for treatment of dehydration or other race-related ills were pushed out to make room for victims of the bombing.

A woman who was a few feet from the second bomb, Brighid Wall, 35, of Duxbury, said that when it exploded, runners and spectators froze, unsure of what to do. Her husband threw their children to the ground, lay on top of them and another man lay on top of them and said, "Don't get up, don't get up." After a minute or so without another explosion, Wall said, she and her family headed to a Starbucks and out the back door through an alley. Around them, the windows of the bars and restaurants were blown out. She said she saw six to eight people bleeding profusely, including one man who was kneeling, dazed, with blood trickling down his head. Another person was on the ground covered in blood and not moving. "My ears are zinging. Their ears are zinging," Wall said. "It was so forceful. It knocked us to the ground."

Competitors and race volunteers were crying as they fled the chaos. Authorities went onto the course to carry away the injured, while race stragglers were rerouted away from the smoking site. Roupen Bastajian, a state trooper from Smithfield, R.I., had just finished the race when he heard the blasts. "I started running toward the blast. And there were people all over the floor," he said. "We started grabbing tourniquets and started tying legs. A lot of people amputated. ... At least 25 to 30 people have at least one leg missing, or an ankle missing, or two legs missing."
The Boston Marathon honored the victims of the Newtown, Conn., shooting with a special mile marker in Monday's race. Boston Athletic Association president Joanne Flaminio previously said there was "special significance" to the fact that the race is 26.2 miles long and 26 people died at Sandy Hook Elementary school.

 

[m_kishuri]

Boston Globe photographer John Tlumacki has photographed the city's marathon 20 times in his three decades in Boston. But today, the usually jovial affair was gripped by tragedy and terror

 

[Natalia]

Political " suspect ni foreigner F1 student

 

[bob malya]

Poleni wahanga.aliotangulia r.i.p na hao waliotega cku yao pia itafika.ila kama m2 au kakufanyia ki2 kibaya kwanini usimfate yeye mwenyewe uamue kufanyizia wasio na hatia?

 

[Tai Ngwilizi]

siku mbaya sana hii ugly ugly headlines, USA ndio kama hivi, Iraq kumepigwa mabomu mji mzima. 42 wamekufa wakiwemo wanawake na watoto ...watu zaidi ya 250 wameumia. Syria nako watu 20 wameuawa na rockets attacks....wakiwemo wanawake na watoto...

 

[MTAZAMO]

Usalama wa Ulimwengu shakani!! Mbabe anapopigwa wengine tunajikunyata kusubiri kudra tu!!

 

[Ipyanah]

Any one claimed for responsibility of the attack yet ?

 

[Natalia]

Any one claimed for responsibility of the attack yet ?

Person of interest 20 years (mSaudi )F1 student

 

[Shadow]

[h=1]Marathon slaughter[/h][h=2]— Boston Marathon 'attacked by terrorists'
— At least 3 dead and over 140 injured by twin bombs
— Boy, 8, among the confirmed dead
— 'Dozens' have legs and ankles missing
— Ball bearings and shrapnel removed from victims
— Boston cops: 'No suspect in custody yet'[/h]

Blast ... cloud of fire and smoke at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Inset: Martin Richard, 8​

By NICK PARKER and JACK LOSH

Last Updated: 16th April 2013

193


​

[h=3]AN eight-year-old boy waiting at the finish line to give his father a hug was among three people killed and more than 144 injured when two explosions rocked the Boston Marathon.[/h]Tragic Martin Richard was standing with his mother and six-year-old sister, who both suffered horrific injuries, when bombs hidden in rubbish bins exploded within seconds of each other.
The lad may very nearly have cheated death after he walked out to embrace his father Bill Richard at the finishing line, according to local reports.
But Martin, from Boston’s Dorchester suburb, then returned to his mum – at which point the first bomb went off.
His mother is in hospital after undergoing brain surgery and his sister's leg was blown off. His older brother is said to be uninjured.

Eerie ... a man in a bomb-disposal suit investigates the site of the explosion

Caught on film ... orange flash of first explosion


​

Friends held a vigil last night at local Tavolo Restaurant for Martin and his mother and sister, who suffered “grievous” injuries.
America is today on terror alert after the twin bombing attack.
Boston police closed off the city as a “danger zone” as witnesses described the “unspeakable horror” of body parts flying through the air and shoes that “still had flesh in them”.
The blasts at 2.50pm local time — flashes of burning orange followed by acrid smoke that billowed for 50ft — were captured in TV footage that chilled America. Two more devices were discovered and made safe by police experts.
Ambulances and fire engines swarmed into Boston’s Copley Square along with armed cops to find the pavements drenched with blood and people lying in agony.
Some victims needed to have limbs amputated following the atrocity — six days before the London Marathon.


Video:[h=3]Exact moment of Boston explosions[/h]Sky News

FOOTAGE captures horrifying blasts which happened near the finish line of the race watched by tens of thousands



Aerial footage of the blast site showed the pavement strewn with blood, glass and debris the blasts, ten seconds apart, erupted from litter bins.
Hospitals reported at least 144 people are being treated, at least 17 of them in critical condition and 25 in serious condition. At least eight of the patients are children.
Doctors are "pulling ball bearings out of people in the emergency room" an expert said, suggesting the bombs were designed to propel shrapnel.
According to one police officer, at least 25 to 30 people have at least one leg missing, or an ankle missing, or two legs missing.
Two brothers each lost a leg from the knee down in the blast after going to watch a friend run the marathon.
Their devastated mother Liz Norden, described how her 31-year-old son phoned her as paramedics rushed him to hospital, saying: “Ma, I’m hurt real bad.”
Speaking from outside the emergency room, Liz added: "I’d never imagined in my wildest dreams this would ever happen.
“I feel sick. I think I could pass out.”

In shock ... woman sits injured on blood-spattered pavement

Terror ... runners approach the bomb blast


​

Last night, around 20 police, federal officials and bomb squad members searched the apartment of a “person of interest” after witnessing an erratic driver circling past the State Police barracks a number of times.
The man was pulled over and displayed a “nervous demeanour”, according to a reported source.
The driver then led police and FBI to a home in the area of Ocean Avenue and Beach Street, which was then descended upon by Boston Police K-9 units, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as Homeland Security investigations.
There remains a large police presence at the home in the Revere area of Boston. Sources said it is related to the bombings.
Boston cops took several empty brown paper bags – normally used to store evidence – into the building and left with them full afterwards.

Under attack ... armed cops hit the streets as dazed runner lies in the road


​

Last night cops were probing links to gun fanatics furious at curbs following December’s Sandy Hook school massacre. The marathon had been dedicated to the 26 shot dead.
It was claimed that police had surveillance video of someone bringing a number of backpacks to the area.
Investigators warned police to be on the lookout for a "darker-skinned or black male" with a possible foreign accent in connection with the attack.
The man was seen with a black backpack and sweatshirt and was trying to get into a restricted area about five minutes before the first explosion.
It was the first successful attack on US soil since 9/11. A White House official said the explosions were “clearly an act of terror”.
President Barack Obama said those responsible will “feel the full weight of justice”.
He added: “The Boston people will say a prayer for Boston tonight. We don’t know who did this or why.
“But make no mistake, we will get to the bottom of this.”

Alert ... President Obama last night


​

A ring of steel was thrown around the White House as anti-terror cops in New York were guarding landmarks.
Half a million had lined the marathon route in Boston, Massachusetts — with the biggest crowds at the finish where men, women and screaming children were left dazed and bloodied.
Around 25,000 ran in the event, including 374 Brits, on the Patriots’ Day public holiday event.
More than 130 blast victims were being treated in seven of the city’s hospitals. At least 15 were said to be in critical condition. One hospital official described the injuries as like those “from a war zone”.
Boston Children’s Hospital received eight patients injured at the explosion, including a 2 year-old-boy with a head injury, a 9-year-old girl with leg trauma who was sent to the operating room and a 12-year-old boy with a femur fracture. The condition of these children currently is not known.

​

The FBI said it was leading a “potential terrorism investigation” by the city’s joint terrorism taskforce into the twin explosions.
PM David Cameron said: “The scenes from Boston are shocking and horrific — my thoughts are with all those who have been affected.”
British police said they were reviewing security for Sunday’s London Marathon.
Last night chief executive Nick Bitel confirmed that the race would still go ahead, saying: “We will not be cancelling the event.”
Onlooker John Ross said: “I gave my belt to stop the blood.”

Terror ... a second blast further back hits scattered runners

Carnage ... blood and debris after the explosions


​

Nightmare scenes were described by local TV girl Jacqueline Bruno — as cops discovered at least two MORE suspected devices in the shattered city, detonating one with a controlled explosion.
She said as the US went into nationwide terrorist lockdown: “I saw people’s legs blown off.
“Runners were coming in and saw unspeakable horror.”
A third blast was feared to have taken place at the city’s John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum — but cops later believed a fire there was just a bizarre coincidence.
Brit Abi Griffiths finished just ten minutes before the horror. The runner said: “It’s scary times here — the sounds of police sirens are echoing everywhere in Boston.
“It was while I was getting my bag that I heard it go off. The ground shook.”


Video:[h=3]Boston marathon blasts: Latest[/h]Sky News

INVESTIGATION continues into horrifying explosions that killed three people and injured dozens more at race



Shocked engineer Marcus Mumford, 34, from Bristol, said: “It was really loud. I was just running down that street. Now the bomb squad are all over the place.”
Officials across America urged citizens via Twitter and Facebook to report suspicious activity to the police. The bloodbath — four hours into the race when stragglers were reaching the end — comes just days before the London Marathon on Sunday. Last night Scotland Yard was reviewing security.
It may also be beefed up for the huge London funeral tomorrow of Baroness Thatcher.
Relieved chartered surveyor Darren Foy, 40, from Southampton, said: “I finished in 3½ hours and we were on the bus when it happened.”

Probe ... officers exit an apartment complex at 364 Ocean Avenue with a possible connection to the bombings

Evidence ... more cops at 364 Ocean Avenue in Revere, Boston


​

Darren — in Boston with his wife Sandra and their two children — said: “It’s all shocking.”
Canadian Mike Mitchell, from Vancouver, had just crossed the line when he looked back and saw a “massive explosion”. He described people running and screaming — saying: “Everybody freaked out.”
Video showed a fireball from one of the blasts rising from behind spectators and a row of flags.
Witness David Abel said: “I saw the most horrific thing anyone can see — people with their limbs mangled, their eyes vacant.”

Escape ... a man with trouser ripped to shreds by the bomb blasts


​

The Boston Marathon is run on the third Monday of April — Patriots’ Day, a public holiday marking the first battles of the American War of Independence.
It fuelled fears the outrage may have been the work of al-Qaeda.
But cops were also probing links to gun fanatics furious at curbs following December’s Sandy Hook school massacre. The marathon had been dedicated to the 26 shot dead. Families of victims were in a VIP area right next to where the bombs went off.
Public transport into central Boston was shut down and a no-fly zone imposed as an emergency medical tent was set up.

Desperate ... a woman prays at the bomb site


​

Authorities also closed down phone networks across the city in case more bombs might be detonated remotely.
Marathon runners flocked to hospitals to donate blood as medics carried out at least ten amputations.
Both bombs were small and initial tests showed no high-grade explosive material, suggesting they were crude devices.
ARE you in Boston and witness the explosion? Call the newsdesk on 020 7782 4100 or email exclusive@the-sun.co.uk
[h=4]Terror in America[/h]

THE Boston bombing was the first terrorist atrocity on US soil in 12 years:September 11, 2001: Al-Qaeda hijackers crash jets into World Trade Center and Pentagon killing almost 3,000 people.July 27, 1996: Bomb at Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia, kills two and injures 111.April 19, 1995: Oklahoma City truck bombing kills 168 and injures nearly 700.​

n.parker@the-sun.co.u​

Read more: Terror attack on Boston Marathon kills 3, injures 130 | The Sun |News