Bogota (Colombia). At least 19 people lost their lives in a bomb blast ahead of presidential elections in Colombia. Five children are also included in the dead. More than 38 people have been injured in this blast. The blast occurred on Saturday on the Pan-American Highway in the country’s southwestern Cauca region. Presidential elections are to be held in the country on May 31.
According to reports by Colombia One.com and CNN, local officials said that the blast was caused by a bomb exploding on a busy road. At least 19 people died and at least 38 were injured in the blast. Five children are also included in the dead. Officials believe this is a terrorist attack. The terrorist attacks this weekend shocked the country.
Cauca Governor Octavio Guzman told XPost, “This bomb blast targeted civilians in the El Tunnel area of Cajíbio on the Pan-American Highway. As soon as the information was received, Colombia’s Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez reached the spot. The governor said that the authorities are forming a national-level security council to deal with the serious situation.
According to officials, explosions were also reported in El Tunnel, El Tambo, Caloto, Popayán, Guachene, Mercadores and Miranda. Hugo Alejandro López Barreto, general commander of the Colombian armed forces, described the blasts as a “dangerous wave of attacks”.
Videos after the blast, which have gone viral on social media, show a deep pit in the middle of the road and damaged vehicles along with dead bodies. President Gustavo Petro blames the notorious FARC (Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces) rebel group and their leader Iván Mordisco (Néstor Gregorio Vera Fernández) for the attack.
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