Car bomb kills four in Colombia

A car bomb ripped through a car park behind a hotel and killed at least four people last night in Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city, fire officials said.

Cali’s fire chief, Alvaro Debia, said the blast wounded at least eight people, five of them seriously. The explosion left a large crater, destroyed cars and blew out windows for 150 yards in all directions.

Police said two men were seen pushing a car into the outdoor parking lot next to the 43-story Hotel Torre de Cali moments before the blast occurred.

A local radio station said it had received a fax in which Colombia’s second-largest rebel group, the National Liberation Army, or ELN, had taken responsibility for the bombing.