Fifteen people, including three Indians, were injured in an explosion at an Indian restaurant in Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto, on May 24, PTI reported. Three people have suffered critical blast injuries, according to the local police.
The blast took place at 10.30 pm late on May 24 night at Bombay Bhel restaurant, located in a plaza in the area of Hurontario Street and Eglinton Avenue.
The three Indian-origin persons reported to have got injured in the incident are stable, ANI reported. “Regarding the bomb blast in an Indian restaurant in Mississauga, our Consul General in Toronto has visited the hospital and confirmed that the three Indian-Canadians who were reported to be critically injured are stable now,” India’s High Commissioner to Canada Vikas Swarup tweeted.
Regarding the bomb blast in an Indian restaurant in Mississauga, while we await details from the police, our Consul General in Toronto has visited the hospital and confirmed that the three Indian-Canadians who were reported to be critically injured are stable now. @HCI_Ottawa
— Vikas Swarup (@VikasSwarup) May 25, 2018
According to the Peel Police, two unidentified people walked into the establishment, and detonated an Improvised Explosive Device and fled from the scene.
They described one suspect as a man in the mid-20s, stocky, wearing dark blue jeans, a dark zip-up hoodie pulled over his head and black cloth covering his face. The second suspect, as per their description, was thin, wearing faded blue jeans, a grey t-shirt, dark zip-up hoodie over his head and with his face covered. With the description, Peel regional police asked for public assistance in nabbing the suspects.
Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted that the Indian government was in touch with the consulate in Toronto.
There is a blast in Indian restaurant Bombay Bhel in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. I am in constant touch with our Consul General in Toronto and Indian High Commissioner in Canada. Our missions will work round the clock. The Emergency number is : +1-647-668-4108.
Please RT— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) May 25, 2018
The Consulate General of India in Toronto also tweeted that it has “opened a helpline in view of the explosion at an Indian restaurant in Mississauga. For any assistance, pl call +1-647-668-4108.”
The Consulate General of India in Toronto has opened a helpline in view of the explosion at an Indian restaurant in Mississauga. For any assistance, pl call +1-647-668-4108.
— IndiainToronto (@IndiainToronto) May 25, 2018
No one has claimed responsibility of the blast so far, and no motive has been attributed yet.
2 suspects attended the scene, detonated an Improvised Explosive Device within the restaurant. Several injured were taken to local hospital and 3 in critical condition were taken to a Toronto Trauma Centre. pic.twitter.com/yzCT59UVN6
— Peel Regional Police (@PeelPolice) May 25, 2018
The three critically injured people were taken to Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto and were in stable condition by 3 am, Joe Korstanje of the Peel Regional Paramedic Services told the Toronto Star. The other 12 people, he added, received minor or superficial wounds. The injuries were of the nature of “penetrating trauma injuries,” Jeremy Cohn, a reporter on the scene, was quoted as saying by the news agency.
Pics from the restaurant explosion at Hurontario St & Eglinton Av in #Mississauga. Plaza is sealed off, approx 15 people transported to hospital, 3 critical. Sources saying incendiary devices were found inside the restaurant. pic.twitter.com/b5ZX6NVeSx
— Jeremy Cohn (@JeremyCohnTV) May 25, 2018
Images from the scene show shattered front windows of Bombay Bhel with debris in the parking lot, and emergency crew assisting the injured outside the restaurant.
Roads in the area were shut, and a large police presence was noticed the entire night, according to reports. Heavily-armed tactical officers were also part of the large emergency response.
This blast comes a month after a driver plowed his rental van into a crowd in Toronto, killing 10 people and injuring 15.
Mississauga is Canada’s sixth-largest city, with a population of 700,000. It is located about 32 km west of Toronto.