Explosions rock Boston Marathon

[FMINigeria]

                        At least two people have been killed and dozens more injured in two explosions, a hundred yards apart during the Boston Marathon on Monday in the United States.

Cable TV footage showed bloodied runners and spectators being treated at the scene and the road strewn with debris.

Boston police said a third incident occurred at the city's JFK Library and was under investigation.

Speaking in a TV address, President Barack Obama said those responsible would feel the "full weight of justice".

"We don't yet have all the answers," he said. "We still do not know who did this or why."

President Obama said he had called Boston Mayor Tom Menino and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to offer federal assistance.

He said the government would increase security around the US "as necessary" but did not say whether the White House thought the incident was part of a larger plot.

Boston's police commissioner has urged people in the city to stay indoors, and not congregate in large groups.

According to the BBC, the city mayor's office has set up an emergency hotline for friends and relatives on +1 617 635 4500.

A spokeswoman for Massachusetts General Hospital in the city told Reuters news agency that it was treating 19 victims of the explosions in its emergency room, but information about their condition was not immediately available.

The Federal Aviation Administration has created a no-fly zone over the area, while security at key sites in Washington DC and New York has been tightened.

Vice President Joe Biden – breaking off from a telephone conference call on gun control – said: "Our prayers are with those people in Boston who have suffered injury."

State police officer Roupen Bastajian had just finished the race when he heard the blasts.

"I started running toward the blast and there were people all over the floor," he said.

"We started grabbing tourniquets and started tying legs. At least 25 to 30 people have at least one leg missing, or an ankle missing, or two legs missing", Bastajian added.

Via: Federal Ministry of Information (FMI) Nigeria

[FMINigeria]

[Folami David]

It came as a shock to so many people because no one expected it to happen. I hope the injured ones would recover soon

[Folami David]