Paradise island hit again
The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali
At least 23 people, including foreigners, were killed and 90 others injured when a fresh terror attack rocked Bali on Saturday, nearly three years after bombs hit the famous resort island.
As of midnight local time, Sanglah General Hospital in Denpasar had received 13 bodies, while another 10 bodies were received at the private Graha Asih Hospital, mostly Indonesians, also in the Bali capital.
Among the casualties were an Australian and a Japanese. Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer confirmed the death of at least one Australian.
Most of the bodies remained unidentified.
The death toll may well increase as rescue workers also admitted blast victims to Kasih Ibu Hospital and the Bali International Medical Center.
The first two blasts went off almost simultaneously at Kafe Nyoman and nearby Kafe Menega in a crowded seafood night market on Jimbaran Beach at around 6.50 p.m. local time, with the third exploding in Raja's noodle and steak house in downtown Kuta 10 minutes later. Jimbaran and Kuta are about five kilometers apart.
Kuta was the target of major bombings on Oct. 12, 2002, which left 202 people dead, mainly Australians.
The explosions took place just three days before the major Hindu festival of Galungan, the celebration of the victory of good over evil.
The police bomb squad who combed the blast sites discovered four more bombs which failed to explode.
Antara reported that three smaller explosions had also occurred.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono summoned his top security officials shortly after the attacks and ordered them to increase vigilance across the country.
Steve Kendall, one of the survivors, said he and his family were having a dinner in Jimbaran when the first bomb went off.
"We heard a gigantic sound and we immediately ran out of the restaurant," he said. Kendall had to undergo surgery to remove metal shrapnel from his hand, while his wife suffered wounds to her head.
The family had just arrived from Jakarta.
"It was a carnage, I couldn't believe it," said a leader of the Kuta community, Bagiana Karang, who rushed to the blast sites in Jimbaran.
A local Muslim figure who helped victims of the 2002 bombings, Agus Bambang P, was among public figures who coordinated rescue efforts.
Bali Police chief Insp. Gen. Mangku Pastika led the preliminary investigation, bringing with him the bomb squad and a forensic team.
"It's too early to conclude anything. Give me more time to gather information," he said.
Two officers of the Australian Federal Police were helping with the investigation.
The ground floor of the three-story Raja's noodle and steak house in the crowded Kuta Square Arcade shopping center was shattered, with doors torn off and chairs and tables destroyed as a result of the blast.
The explosion also shattered windows and glass panels on dozens of stores and buildings nearby. Glass shards and broken metal littered the sidewalk.
Sutikno Soedarjo, a business executive associated with the Bali Hard Rock Cafe and Four Seasons Villas, told the Post the two establishments were unaffected by the explosions.
The anxiety and uncertainty that engulfed the island was further aggravated by the breakdown in the cellular phone network, which prevented security officers, medical personnel and journalists from relaying necessary information to their colleagues.
With additional reporting by Rita Widiadana, I Wayan Juniartha and Wahjoe Boediwardhana.