SANTIAGO – An explosion in the heart of Chilean capital has left five people injured, according to government officials.
According to the first information from the Fire Department, an explosive device exploded at 11:45 this Friday near a Transantiago stop at the corner of Vicuña Mackenna and Bilbao in downtown Santiago.
? AHORA | Ministro del Interior se refiere a explosión de artefacto que provocó heridos en Santiago Centro.
Posted by T13 on Friday, January 4, 2019
Both Carabineros and the city mayor confirmed that the device was inside a bag in the rubbish dump located in the place.
Material Mayor CBS desplegado en #emergencia producida en Av. Vicuña Mackenna y Francisco Bilbao. pic.twitter.com/lIvwb7BbYb
— Cuerpo de Bomberos de Santiago (@cbsantiago) January 4, 2019
Later, the GOPE carried out the controlled detonation of a box as a precaution in another nearby whereabouts.
All of the injured, including a 30-year-old woman who sustained severe wounds, have been shifted to hospitals. The site of the blast remains totally closed off, and the traffic is suspended towards the center of Santiago.
12:50 hrs. El acceso poniente de la estación Parque Bustamante en #L5 se encuentra cerrado por procedimiento de Carabineros en el exterior. El acceso que está en el parque mismo está habilitado y la estación funciona con normalidad.
— Metro de Santiago (@metrodesantiago) January 4, 2019
Claudia Caña, the prosecutor who has been made in-charge of the investigation of the incident, said that “all the investigative lines are being investigated”, adding that for the moment there is “evidence gathering and everything that is done in this type of attacks”.
No sólo condenamos de forma categórica ataques con artefactos explosivos ocurridos en Santiago. Interpusimos una querella invocando ley antiterrorista contra quienes resulten responsables e investigaremos hasta las últimas consecuencias. La violencia nunca será una vía al diálogo
— Sebastian Piñera (@sebastianpinera) January 4, 2019
