SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) – A bomb exploded next to a Chilean subway station on Monday, injuring at least seven people, the most damaging of more than two dozen explosive devices planted around the country’s capital this year.
The blast took place at lunchtime at a fast-food restaurant in a small, underground shopping mall connected to the Escuela Militar subway station in Santiago’s affluent Las Conde neighborhood.
The injuries apparently were caused by fragments from a fire extinguisher filled with gunpowder that detonated in a trash bin, said fire department Commander Ivo Zuvic Garcia.
Among those hurt in the blast was a cleaning woman who lost a finger, said Dr. Fernando Zapata of the government’s emergency medical service. He said nine people were hurt, but other officials put the figure at seven.
Anti-riot police, firefighters and bomb squad officers swarmed across the station, which was closed briefly after the blast.