At least 45 people were wounded, some critically, when a time-bomb exploded at Olcott Mawatha in Pettah shortly after noon yesterday, police and hospital sources said.
They said the bomb had been concealed close to a pavement stall selling wristwatches a few metres away from the Bo Tree at Pettah and it exploded around 12.15 p.m. while hundreds of people were at the busy junction.
Police immediately blamed the explosion on the LTTE, saying the motive was apparently to distract the ongoing military offensive in the Wanni.
Those injured in the explosion were rushed to the National Hospital by the public and the police.
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| Police detectives carrying out investigations at the scene where a small time bomb exploded at a wristwatch stall at rush hour in Pettah yesterday. |
National Hospital Director Dr. Hector Weerasinghe said that among the injured were four women and two children while the rest were men. At least four who were in a serious condition had been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).Police investigators said the package of explosives was relatively small and weighed only about 75 grams. They said they believed it was meant to cause limited damage, perhaps as a warning to the authorities.
Mohamed Iqbal who operates a tea kiosk close to the scene of the blast said he heard an explosion from the opposite side of the road and as he rushed out, he saw several people fallen around the wristwatch stall. He said that amidst scenes of panic and fear, he also helped take some of the victims to hospital.
Shantha Ratnayake a journalist with a Sinhala daily was on his way home when he was caught up in the blast but was lucky to escape unhurt and alert his newspaper. “There was smoke all over the place and several people were lying injured on the ground. It appeared to be a small explosion,” Mr. Ratnayake said.
Meanwhile, the Government yesterday called on the public to remain vigilant in the face of the LTTE’s attempts to disrupt public life and cause death and destruction, as it faces severe setbacks in military operations against it in the North.
“Several recent plots by the LTTE to carry out bomb attacks targeting government installations, public transport and civilians have been foiled following information of such terrorist plots being revealed by LTTE cadres in police custody,” the President’s office said in a statement. | 
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