Anti-terror police hunt man seen leaving parcel bomb in Lyon that left ‘at least 13’ injured including an eight-year-old girl, as Macron condemns the ‘attack’
- Police said several people had been injured in the blast on a busy street in Lyon
- The so-called ‘parcel bomb’ appeared to be filled with nails, screws and bolts
- The area where the bomb explosion occurred has now been evacuated by police
At least 13 people including an eight-year-old girl have been wounded in a suspected terrorist nail bomb attack in the French city of Lyon with police hunting a man in his 30s.
A massive explosion was heard just after 5.30pm on a busy street in the city centre, with authorities saying a man on a bicycle was seen placing a bag on the ground just moments before.
Eleven of the victims were rushed to hospital from the scene of the attack outside a bakery in the Victor Hugo square, but their injuries were not thought to be life threatening.
‘Anti terrorist officers are at the scene along with other police,’ said a spokesman for the local emergency services.
‘A man in his mid 30s was seen placing a possible parcel bomb, and a hunt has been launched to try and find him.’
French President Emmanuel Macron interrupted a TV interview about the European Parliament elections to announce: ‘There’s been a bomb attack in Lyon, there are injuries’.
A ‘parcel bomb’ filled with nails, screws and bolts exploded on a busy street in Lyon, France today
Emergency workers carry a person injured in a suspected package bomb blast along a pedestrian street in the heart of Lyon
Emergency workers attended to an injured person in the back of an ambulance after the bomb blast in Lyon today
The area where the explosion occurred, on the narrow strip of land between the Saone and Rhone rivers in the historic city centre, has been evacuated.
A police source said the package contained ‘screws or bolts’ and had been placed in front of a bakery on the corner of the two popular streets.
President Emmanuel Macron called the blast an ‘attack’ during a live Facebook interview, adding that no deaths had been reported ‘for the time being.’
‘It’s not for me to give a toll but it appears there are no casualties. There have been injuries, so obviously I’m thinking of these injured and their families,’ Macron said.
David Kimefeld, president of the metropolis of Lyon, said: ‘I condemn with the utmost firmness the bomb attack that took place in the late afternoon in Victor Hugo in Lyon.
‘My first thoughts go to the victims and their families. I salute the courage of firefighters who mobilized very quickly to help the victims.
‘This barbaric act reminds us that the fight against terrorism is a daily battle and that we must never relax our vigilance.’
Emergency service workers load injured people into ambulances after the bomb blast today, which French President Emmanuel Macron labelled ‘an attack’
Shocked shoppers looked on as a large police presence filled the busy pedestrian street in the heart of Lyon
A dressed victim being loaded into an ambulance after the attack today, with officials later saying there were no serious injuries
Police officers are seen near the site of a suspected bomb attack in central Lyon this evening
A row of ambulances are spotted as emergency workers attended to injured people in the back of an ambulance after the attack
The cause of the blast wasn’t immediately known, said Kamel Amerouche, the regional authority’s communications chief.
Amerouche told The Associated Press the victims had leg injuries that weren’t life-threatening.
He said the explosion occurred in or outside a store of the bakery chain Brioche Doree and the area had been cordoned off by police.
Live television images of the street showed the Brioche Doree sign intact and police vans and an ambulance at the scene.
The area where the explosion occurred has been evacuated with at least eight people injured
The package contained ‘screws or bolts’ and had been placed in front of a bakery on the corner of the two popular streets