Bomb blast kills 14 in Trinidad's capital

A bomb exploded in a rubbish bin in Trinidad’s capital, injuring 14 people, two critically.

Port-of-Spain’s commercial district was evacuated and the area checked for additional bombs, but none was found, Deputy Police Commissioner Glen Roach said.

“We have no idea of the kind of device used nor who is behind it,” Roach said.

Lennox Alfred, chief fire officer for Trinidad, said the 14 injured included a 26-year-old street vendor and a woman passer-by. Both were in a critical condition.

A witness reported seeing one woman with her hand partially severed. Police and soldiers with automatic rifles swarmed into the downtown area after the explosion as rescuers aided the victims.

Local media reported that a man was seen placing a package in the bin shortly before the explosion at around 2pm local time yesterday, on the corner of Frederick and Queen streets, a major intersection in the capital city of the two-island Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago.

The site of the blast is two blocks from the national Parliament, which was meeting at the time.

Trinidad’s prime minister Patrick Manning called the incident a “dastardly act” and said he directed the national security minister and police to use all resources to catch those responsible.

“The prime minister wishes for a speedy recovery to those injured and traumatised and assures the nation that all emergency plans are in place … to ensure normalcy is returned in the shortest possible time,” Manning’s office said in a statement.

Port-of-Spain mayor Murchison Brown called for extra security precautions. “It is something I think we will all be concerned about and I am sure the security forces have already started putting things in place,” he said in a radio interview.

The two-island country, a former British colony of 1.3 million people, is the most prosperous member of the 15-member Caribbean Community, thanks to its petroleum and natural gas deposits.

In recent years, it has become the leading supplier of liquid natural gas to the United States, supplying 75% of imports last year.