Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Three Israeli tourists killed in Bulgaria bus blast

 

Wednesday 18 July 2012 17:26 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A bus carrying young Israeli tourists in a Bulgarian resort exploded today, killing three people and wounding at least 20, police said.

Witnesses told Israeli media that the huge blast occurred soon after someone boarded the vehicle. Images showed smoke billowing from the scene.

The incident took place in the Black Sea city of Burgas, 250 miles east of the capital, Sofia.

The bus was full of young Israeli travellers.

Bulgaria is a popular tourist destination for Israelis.

Israeli tourists have been targeted before, namely in India, Thailand and Azerbaijan. Iran is suspected of being behind these attacks.

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Jonathan Rosenzweig said a flight from Tel Aviv had landed at 4.45pm and the blast took place about 40 minutes later.

"We don't know if it was a terror attack," said Paul Hirschson, another spokesman for the ministry. "We do know it was an explosion."

Witness Gal Malka told Israel's Channel 2 TV that she saw someone board the bus before it exploded.

Officials said Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman had spoken with his Bulgarian counterpart and was being kept abreast of developments.

AP

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in