Nine People injured in a Car Bomb Explodes in Madrid

Madrid Bureau Chief Al Goodman said there were no reported fatalities but police said 31 were hurt by the blast wave, with 21 of them taken to hospital. Madrid Mayor Alberto Ruiz Gallardon told a reporter for CNN sister network CNN+ that most of injuries — many caused by flying glass — were light.

Members of the Spanish royal family were to inaugurate a major art show at the Ifema convention center later in the day, Goodman said. A caller claiming to be with the Basque separatist group ETA warned of the bombing in phone call to the Basque newspaper Gara shortly before 9 a.m. (0800 GMT), the paper’s Web site reported. Gara then warned authorities. The bomb exploded at 9:30 a.m.

The bomb exploded shortly after 9.30am (8.30am Irish time) near Ifema, a large convention centre, said David Fernandez, spokesman for the Interior Ministry. A telephone warning was received by the Basque newspaper Gara, which often serves a mouthpiece for Eta. Gara said it received the warning 35 minutes before the blast.

The Spanish king and queen had been due to open a modern arts fair at the city’s main convention centre later in the day. A destroyed car was seen near one of the entrances to the centre in the north-east of Madrid. Madrid police rushed to the scene in an attempt to move people away from the car before it blew up but between 10 and 15 people were injured.

A spokesman for Madrid emergency services said at least 10 people were being treated for injuries, although none of them were serious. “It looks like, although it is not confirmed, that a car exploded,” a spokesman for the Madrid fire department said on Wednesday. Newspaper El Pais said on its Web site a destroyed car was seen at the explosion site.

The blast is believed to have been caused by a car bomb, with the Basque separatist group ETA allegedly warning of the attack in advance. The convention centre was due to be attended later on today by King Juan Carlos. At least ten people are reported to have been treated for injuries.