More than a dozen people have been injured after an improvised explosive device was detonated inside a restaurant in Mississauga, a Canadian city neighbouring Toronto.

The blast occurred just after 10:30pm on Thursday May 24, media reported.

About 15 people were taken to hospital after the blast at the Bombay Bhel restaurant. Three people had critical injuries, the Peel Regional Paramedic Service said in a Tweet.

Peel Regional Police said on Twitter that two men in their mid 20s had detonated an improvised explosive device inside the restaurant. The men fled the scene shortly after the incident, the statement said.

The police posted a photograph on Twitter showing two people with dark zip-up hoodies walking into an establishment with one of them appearing to be carrying something.

Roads in the area were closed and a large police presence was at the scene, with heavily armed tactical officers arriving as part of the large emergency response, local media reported.

Mississauga, Canada’s sixth-largest city, with a population of 700,000, lies about 20 miles (32 km) west of Toronto.

Andre Larrivee, who lives nearby, told CTV he was watching television when he heard a “really loud” explosion.

The blast comes a month after a driver plowed his white Ryder rental vaninto a lunch-hour crowd in Toronto, killing 10 people and injuring 15.

 

 

 

source: Guardian