Blast kills seven, dozens hurt in Colombia

BOGOTA: Seven people were killed and some 70 wounded when suspected leftist rebels detonated explosives near a police station in the southwestern town of Tumaco on Wednesday, Red Cross officials said.

Four police officers and three civilians were killed in the blast, Red Cross Urgent Assistance director Cesar Uruena told RCN radio.

Of those wounded, 34 were police officers and 36 civilians, Uruena added.

The flood of wounded swamped local hospital's capacity, and some of the most seriously wounded were evacuated by Air Force jet to Cali, he added.

The bomb, apparently hidden inside a motorbike, blew up outside the police station on a busy street with many pedestrians close by, said Victor Gallo, mayor of the town of 170,000 located in the Narino department on the Pacific. (AFP)