Breaking News :: Deadly Bomb Goes Off at Marriott Hotel in Pakistan
Some very, very sad news to report. A truck bomb exploded at the Marriott Islamabad Hotel in Pakistan today, killing at least 40 people and wounding hundreds more. The NY Times reports:
The bomb left a vast crater, 40 feet wide and 25 feet deep, at the security barrier to the hotel. Witnesses said security guards were buried under a mound of rubble. Cars across the street from the hotel were mangled, and trees on the street were charred and stripped of their branches. The blast shattered windows in buildings hundreds of yards away.
It turns out that Marriott's hotel security was checking the truck for explosives when it detonated. The number of casualties and the number of injured is expected to increase because many people were still trapped in the six-story hotel. This was also thought to be one of the worst acts of terrorism in Pakistan history.
Keep reading for Bill Marriott's blog post about the tragedy.
Bill Marriott has already addressed the horrible incident on his blog today:
We put a very high premium on security at Marriott. In this case, I salute the bravery of the security personnel who were right there when the suicide bomber struck. They had stopped the truck just outside the fortified gate. They were examining it when the bomb detonated. Sadly each member of the team was killed. These guys were defending the lives of hotel guests and their fellow co-workers. They were killed in the line of their duty.
Marriott said they could not confirm the exact numbers of those killed or wounded but he did say many of them were Marriott employees. This is terrible. Our thoughts are with all the victims and the Marriott family today.
[Photo: NY Times]
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