Blast at Indian restaurant in Canada's Ontario injures 15
25 May 2018
At least 15 people were injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off at the Bombay Bhel restaurant in Mississauga city in Canada's Ontario province on Thursday night, police said.
A search operation has been launched for two male suspects who detonated the device inside the restaurant and fled the scene after the blast, reports CBC Canada.
The restaurant is located in the area of Hurontario Street and Eglinton Avenue East. The blast took place at around 10.30 p.m.
According to initial reports, two bombers were behind the blast which injured 15 people, three of whom are in a critical condition.
Reports said that emergency crew responded to calls in Mississauga at around 10.32 pm local time. The area where the blast occurred is between the Hurontario Street and Eglinton Avenue of Ontario.
Mississauga has a large immigrant population and is especially popular destination for Indian immigrants.
Reports quoted the Peel Regional Police which confirmed that two people set off an "improvised explosive device" in the restaurant before fleeing the scene. "The police released a photo of the suspects, describing them as male, wearing dark sweatshirts with hoods pulled up and their faces covered," The New York Times reported.
According to a report in the paper, "Peel Paramedics, a local ambulance service, said it was “on scene with multiple patients at an explosion in Mississauga." Three people had “critical blast injuries,” the service said, while the rest suffered minor injuries.
India’s minister of external affairs Sushma Swaraj tweeted from her official handle and said, "There is a blast in Indian restaurant Bombay Bhel in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. I am in constant touch with our Consul General in Toronto and Indian High Commissioner in Canada. Our missions will work round the clock. The Emergency number is : +1-647-668-4108. Please RT."
The Plaza area around the restaurant has been sealed, The Express quoted the police as saying. Multiple patients were transported to local hospitals with minor injuries.
The blast comes months after the driver of a van plowed into pedestrians and killed 10 people in Toronto and injured 14 more. The suspect in that attack, Alek Minassian, intentionally struck the victims in what was likely to count as Canada's deadliest vehicular assault, the police said.