At least 9 killed in blasts at Jakarta hotels
JAKARTA, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Two high explosive bombs rocked two luxurious 1 hotels of Ritz Carlton and JW Marriot in central Jakarta Friday morning, killing 2 at least 9 people and wounding more than 50.
The death toll 3 rose to nine after the life of Timothy Mackay, the 60-year-old president of PT Holcim from New Zealand, could not be saved in hospital, the hospital official said.
Earlier, Minister for Politics, Law and Security and Minister Widodo AS confirmed 8 people were killed on the sites. "Six of them killed in JW Marriot Hotel and two others in Ritz Carlton."
The minister said nearly a half of the victims were foreigners, among which were Japanese and New Zealand citizens.
The minister said the first blast took place at 6:45 Jakarta time (2345 GMT Thursday) and two minutes later the second one occurred. The two hotels were located in two sides of a busy business center in the city center.
An eye witness said she saw at least three foreigners with blood on their bodies were carried out to an ambulance. The wounded persons were rushed to the nearby MMC Jakarta Hospital and Medistra Hospital.
In the MMC Jakarta Hospital, there were two foreigners out of ten wounded people. One foreigner has been shifted to Pertamina Hospital and the other is undergoing surgery.
The explosions broke windows at the hotels while huge sound were heard, the witness said. A television footage of Metro 4 TV showed part of the front windows of the Ritz Carlton Hotel were broken and some guests with sleeping clothes were still outside the building.
A witness named only Yanuar who survived the blast in Marriot Hotel said that the blast occurred at the lobby of the hotel. "I was smashed a few meters away, " he said.
In the Ritz Carlton Hotel, the explosion took place at the Erlangga Restaurant at the third floor.
Police evacuated 5 employees of the two hotels and office buildings around the hotels and are combing the sites, searching for other victims.
It is still unclear whether the blasts were caused by bombs. A police special bomb squad 6 is checking the blasts.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and National Police chief General Bambang Hendarso Danuri are to visit the sites, a text message from the Statte Palace and the television said.
Manchester United team, which planned to stay in the hotel on Saturday for its exhibition game on Monday, finally aborted 7 its plan, Metro television said.
In August 2003, the Marriott Hotel was hit by terrorist suicide bombings believed from the Southeast Asia terrorist network of Jemaah Islmiyah, killing scores of people.
（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）
- This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
- The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。
- Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
- Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
- The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
- The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。
- Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
- The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。
- Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
- The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。
- The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
- A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。