Blast hits Colombia shopping mall - Officials called the blast "a real tragedy" for the city

news.bbc.co.uk Wednesday, 5 March, 2003, 23:36 GMT

A bomb has ripped through a busy shopping centre in north-eastern Colombia, killing at least seven people and injuring more than 60.

Police are blaming left-wing rebels for the blast, which happened around 0940 local time (1440 GMT) in the city of Cucuta.

The bomb went off in the underground car park of one of the city's busiest shopping malls, igniting a huge fire that forced shoppers to flee in panic.

The blast brought terror to a city that has one of the highest murder rates in Colombia, itself one of the most dangerous countries in the world.

Rescue services, including some from just over the border in Venezuela, rushed to the scene as frightened passers-by looked on.

"We heard a very strong explosion and then flames burst out. Then there was a fire and some parts of the building caved in," said a man who escaped unharmed, quoted by Reuters news agency.

Security

Initially police believed they were dealing with a car bomb, but they later said it was an explosive device placed close to a parked car.

The governor of Norte de Santander province, Juan Santaella, said the blast was "a real tragedy" for the city, the French news agency AFP reported.

During the last few months there has been a wave of bomb attacks in Cucuta.

The city lies some 450 kilometres (280 miles) north of the capital, Bogota, close to the border with Venezuela.

Local police believe the blast is the work of guerrillas from the National Liberation Army (ELN), although the larger Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) also operate in the region.

Both groups are fighting right-wing paramilitaries for control of the drug crops which proliferate in the area.

Whoever was behind the bombing, the BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Bogota says, it further undermines the security strategy of President Alvaro Uribe, who has pledged to crush the rebel insurgency.