At least eight people dead as bomb rocks Aussie embassy in Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): At least eight people were reportedly dead following a powerful blast outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta on Jl. HR Rasuna Said in South Jakarta.

The explosion caused extensive damage to the Australian Embassy building and other high rise buildings nearby.

Elshinta radio reported that three bodies were evacuated to nearby MMC Hospital while another five were sent to Medistra Hospital on Jl. Gatot Subroto.

More than 90 injured people were also admitted to the MMC Hospita.

The bomb went off at about 10:30 a.m. in the busy Kuningan business and financial district along Jl. HR Rasuna Said.

There was no detailed information on the explosive with reports saying it went off from either a car or a motorcycle.

Traffic leading to the district was heavily congested as police and traffic wardens seal off the area from motorists.

In recent weeks several Western embassies, including those of the United States and Australia, have warned their citizens about possible attacks by militants.

Last year, 12 people died in a suicide attack on the JW Marriott hotel in the same district. In 2002, 202 people, mostly Westerners travelgoers, died in an attack on two nightclubs on the tourist island of Bali. (***)