A bomb destroyed a crowded nightclub on the tourist island of Bali
Saturday, sparking a devastating inferno that killed at least 187
people and wounded 300 - many of them foreigners. Officials said it
was the worst terrorist act in Indonesia's history.
Authorities said a second bomb exploded near the island's US
consular office. Police said there were no casualties in that
explosion.
The blasts came three days after the US State Department issued a
worldwide alert for terror attacks and highlighted fears by the
United States and others that Indonesia - the most populous Muslim
nation - is becoming a haven for terrorists and that al-Qaida
operatives are active.
There was no claim of responsibility for the bombing in the Sari
Club at the Kuta Beach resort, which officials said killed
Indonesians along with Australians, Canadians, Britons, and Swedes.
More than 300 people were injured, at least 90 of them critically,
officials said.
"This is the worst act of terror in Indonesia's history," Gen. Da'i
Bachtiar, the national police chief, told reporters at the site of
the blast. "We have to be more alert for other acts of terror."
Bachtiar said 171 people were confirmed killed. But the private
Metro TV station reported that 181 had perished.
Witnesses said that the blast came from a vehicle, but authorities
have not said if they think it was a car bomb.
The explosion went off about 11 p.m. and sparked a fire which
collapsed the nightclub's flimsy roof, trapping hundreds of
revelers inside, officials said.
"The place was packed, and it went up within a millisecond," Simon
Quayle, the coach of an Australian rules football team, told
Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.
Quayle, whose team was visiting Bali, said he made it safely out of
the building but eight of his 19 players were missing.
The blaze then engulfed a nearby nightclub before racing through
about 20 other buildings on the block, heavily damaging many of
them.
The blast left a large crater where the club entrance had been. The
neighborhood is Bali's biggest tourist area - a maze of clubs,
restaurants, shops, hotels and beach bungalows. It caters to a
younger crowd of tourists and surfers.
The second explosive detonated a few minutes after the first in the
nearby city of Denpasar, Bali's capital, about 300 feet from a US
consular office, Suyatno said.
A
bomb squad was investigating both blasts but Indonesian officials
declined to provide a motive or blame any group.
Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer blamed it on
terrorism. "It looks as though this was a terrorist attack," he
said on Australian Broadcasting Corp. television.
He
said he believed the Sari nightclub was targeted because it was
popular with Australians and other foreigners.
He
said Australians were almost certainly among the dead, estimating
that at least 40 Australians were injured, about 15 of them
seriously.
Wayan Putra, a driver at the nearby Poppies hotel, said that after
the blast, hundreds of townspeople rushed toward the nightclub but
could not get near it because of the intense flames.
White House spokeswoman Jeanie Mamo said Washington was monitoring
the situation and working with Indonesian authorities. US officials
said they didn't know if there were any Americans among the
casualties.
The blasts occurred on the second anniversary of the al-Qaida
linked attack against USS Cole off Yemen that left 17 sailors dead.
Australia has also been one of the United States' staunchest allies
in its war on terror and has 150 elite troops serving in
Afghanistan.
Indonesian officials have denied the claims that terrorists are
using Indonesia as a base. But the US Embassy in the national
capital of Jakarta closed Sept. 10 and remained shut for six days
due to what US officials said were threats possibly linked to
al-Qaida. And Americans traveling in central Java were warned to be
vigilant.
Days later, a hand grenade exploded in a car near a house belonging
to the US Embassy in Jakarta, killing one man. There was
conflicting information as to whether the device was meant to harm
Americans.
Authorities in Malaysia and Singapore have alleged that members of
Jemaah Islamiyah - a group said to be seeking to set up an Islamic
state in Southeast Asia - are based in Indonesia.
Singapore has been pressing Indonesia to arrest Jemaah Islamiyah's
alleged leader, Abu Bakar Bashir, who lives in Indonesia. But
Indonesian officials say they have no evidence against him.
Putra, the driver, said dozens of injured were evacuated by scooter
drivers who normally ferry tourists from one part of the resort to
another.
Australia tourist Rachel Hughes, 18, said she and a friend had just
arrived in Kuta when the blast occurred.
"Standing in the foyer of the Bounty Hotel, people were just
walking in, blood dripping off them, burns to their face, skin
coming off them," she told Australia's Seven Network.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Australia had
sent an air force plane with a medical team to Bali to help the
hard-pressed local hospitals and to possibly evacuate wounded
Australians.
National carrier Qantas also was scheduling extra flights to bring
people home. Earlier the government had said all flights to the
island had been suspended.
Police and the military restricted access in and out of Bali from
Denpasar's Ngurah Rai airport and the area seaports in Benoa,
Gilimanuk and Padang Bai, said Lt. Col. Yatim Suyatno, a police
spokesman.
Although Indonesia has been wracked by ethnic and religious
violence since the overthrow four years ago of former dictator
Suharto, Bali itself has remained quiet. Saturday's bombings are
likely to be a huge blow to Indonesia's lucrative tourism industry
and might also undermine government efforts to revive the
economy.
"Bali has always, always been safe. We depend on tourism for our
livelihood. Our name has been smeared by this horrible blast," said
Putra, the driver.
Ten Hong Kong people were missing and three others injured in the
blasts on Indonesia's Bali Island Saturday night, a Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government release said
Sunday.
It
said one of the three injured people had returned to Hong Kong and
was admitted to hospital.
A
government spokesman said that the HKSAR government would keep in
touch with the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong and the Chinese
Embassy in Indonesia, and would continue to keep a close watch on
the development of the incident.
(China
Daily and Xinhua News
Agency October 14, 2002)