Bomb blast near airline office in Iran
Blast near airline office in Tehran
An explosion was set off near the British Airways offices in Tehran, a spokesman for the airline said. No-one is believed to have been hurt in the incident in the Iranian capital and there was no damage to buildings. "There has been a small explosion in the street near an office block which contains several Western offices and properties," the British Airways spokesman said.
Quote:
TEHRAN (Reuters) - A small bomb exploded outside the offices of British Airways, BP and DaimlerChrysler in the Iranian capital Tehran on Tuesday, but there were no casualties, witnesses said.
One witness said the blast was caused by a bomb hidden in a rubbish bin in the hallway of a large tower block on the floor shared by the three international companies.
"It was at 9.15 a.m. (0545 GMT) outside the BA and BP office, there were no casualties but the building was damaged," said the witness who works in one of the offices.
"I was sitting at my desk and suddenly we heard an explosion and there was smoke everywhere," he said. "Everyone panicked, especially the BA office people who are mostly women, they started to scream and we ran out of the office."
Iran is locked in a tense stand-off with Britain, Germany and France over it nuclear programme. Iran said on Monday it had begun the process of restarting some nuclear activities which the three countries have warned could lead to U.N. sanctions.
"It was hidden in a rubbish bin," the witness said. "Windows were smashed, there was a lot of damage to the building, parts of the ceiling collapsed."
A Reuters witness said the wall of the hallway was blackened above a rubbish bin next to the lift on the 10th floor of the large modern building. The large glass door of the BA office was blown off and lying on the floor.
"We heard a bang and rushed out of the office and saw smoke in the corridor," Juergen Kuertz, manager of DaimlerChrysler in Iran, told Reuters. "The windows were smashed, but there was no one injured."
Police at the scene confirmed it was a bomb blast.
Iran's Interior Ministry said they had sent bomb disposal teams to the building.
A BA spokesman in London said: "There has been a very small explosion outside an office block used by a lot of Western companies, including BA which is on the 10th floor.
"There was no damage to the BA office, but the office will be shut for the rest of the day. I understand it was a very small device in a bin," he said.
http://newsbox.msn.co.uk/article.asp...e=windows-1252
