A man injured in an explosion at the 2013 Boston Marathon in Boston makes …
Bystanders help an injured woman at the scene of the first explosion
BANGKOK – The Embassy of the United States in Thailand is on high alert following the recent explosions at Boston marathon finish line in the US.
According to Pol Maj Gen Chaiwat Chantaworaruk, head of the Patrol and Special Operations Division of the Metropolitan Police Commission, security measures at the US embassy have been intensified to the maximum level; however, the embassy has yet to request for an increase in security forces.
Pol Maj Gen Chaiwat added that a police intelligence unit has detected no signs of attempt to create chaos or any irregular activities in Thailand, particularly at the US embassy.
The bomb blasts in Boston resulted in at least 3 dead and over a hundred injured.
People react as an explosion goes off near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon in Boston
BOSTON – Investigators are combing through the rubble from two blasts that went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, searching for clues to help determine who planned the attack and why.
The twin explosions Monday afternoon killed three people, including an eight-year-old boy who was waiting for his father at the finish line, and injured more than 140 people, some critically. At least 2,000 Canadians took part in the race, but none were reported killed or injured.
As of Tuesday morning, federal investigators said no one had yet claimed responsibility for the bombings, which took place seconds apart on Patriots Day.
The investigation is being carried out by the FBI’s Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force which executed a raid overnight, serving a warrant on a home in suburban Boston. Investigators also appealed for any video, audio and still images taken by marathon spectators.Early Tuesday, police were beginning to remove some of the barricades on streets that were closed off in the moments after the blasts. “They’re revealing the scenes of chaos that would have followed the blast,” CTV’s Genevieve Beauchemin told Canada AM, reporting from Boston.
The scene revealed at one restaurant where the floor was covered in bandages, the sidewalk was covered in blood, and tables and chairs were jumbled in a tangled mess.
“What is also clear is the sense of shock that was happening here at this stage yesterday is yielding to a sense of loss, a realization of just what was lost yesterday,” Beauchemin said.
Robert Siciliano, a runner who took part in the marathon Monday, said he was approaching the finish line as the blasts occurred. The explosions sent a cloud of smoke and debris into the air between him and the finish, where his family was waiting.
“I was rounding the corner, I was on Boylston Street, the smoke had just begun to dissipate and I ran toward the smoke, toward the bombings, my family was on the other side and I had to get to them,” he said.
“There was screaming, yelling and crying, there was a lot of blood on the ground. I ran through the crowds, I ran around the back end of the finish line and ended up crossing Boylston … I instructed my dad to get them out of there because I was concerned there might be another attack.”
Late Monday evening Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said Boston would be open for business Tuesday but said “it will not be business as usual.”
Patrick said officials are also asking that everyone be on “a state of heightened vigilance.”
U.S. President Barack Obama was careful not to use the words “terror” or “terrorism” as he delivered a White House briefing Monday after the deadly bombings, but an administration official said the bombings were being treated as an act of terrorism.
“We will find out who did this. We’ll find out why they did this,” Obama said. “Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups, will feel the full weight of justice.”
A European security official said Tuesday initial evidence indicates that the attacks were not the work of suicide bombers.
“So far, investigators believe it was not the work of suicide bombers, but it is still too early to rule it out completely,” said the official, who spoke from the United States on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the U.S. investigation.
Hospital officials across the city said at least 15 of the wounded suffered critical injuries. Twenty-nine of the wounded were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, and eight were listed in critical condition there late Monday night.
Dr. Peter Fagenholz said many suffered combined bone, soft tissue and vascular injuries to their lower extremities. “We have performed several amputations,” Fagenholz told reporters outside the hospital.
There were reports that two Boston-area brothers who were waiting at the finish line both lost a leg in the blast.
Fagenholz said many of the patients had shrapnel-type injuries. Several of the patients who had surgery Monday will also require additional operations throughout the week, he added.
Alisdair Conn, chief of emergency services at the hospital, told AP earlier Monday: “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.”
According to reports, two other explosive devices were also found near the marathon finish line, and were disarmed. Police have not confirmed those reports.
Police said a fire at the John F. Kennedy Library may have been caused by an incendiary device, but have not confirmed whether the incidents are related.
