Summary Two bombs exploded near the finish of the Boston Marathon, killing two people, injuring 22 others.
BOSTON (AP) - Two bombs exploded near the finish of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing three people, injuring more than 130 others and sending authorities rushing to aid wounded spectators, race organizers and police said.
One runner, a Rhode Island state police officer, said he saw at least two dozen people with very serious injuries, including missing limbs.
About two hours after the winners crossed the line of America s oldest and most prestigious marathon, there was a loud explosion on the north side of Boylston Street, just before the photo bridge that marks the finish line. Another explosion could be heard a few seconds later.
The Boston Marathon said that bombs caused the two explosions and that organizers were working with authorities to determine what happened. The Boston Police Department said two people were killed and 23 others injured.
Competitors and race volunteers were crying as they fled the chaos. Bloody spectators were being carried to the medical tent that had been set up to care for fatigued runners. Authorities went onto the course to carry away the injured while stragglers in the 26.2-mile race were rerouted away from the smoking site.
Roupen Bastajian, a 35-year-old state trooper from Rhode Island, had just finished the race when they put the heat blanket wrap on him and he heard the first blast.
"I started running toward the blast. And there were people all over the floor," he said. "We started grabbing tourniquets and started tying legs. A lot of people amputated. ... At least 25 to 30 people have at least one leg missing, or an ankle missing, or two legs missing."
A Boston police officer was wheeled from the course with a leg injury that was bleeding.
"There are a lot of people down," said one man, whose bib No. 17528 identified him as Frank Deruyter of North Carolina.
He was not injured, but marathon workers were carrying one woman, who did not appear to be a runner, to the medical area as blood gushed from her leg.
Smoke rose from the blasts, fluttering through the national flags lining the route of the world s oldest and most prestigious marathon. TV helicopter footage showed blood staining the pavement in the popular shopping and tourist area known as the Back Bay.
"There are people who are really, really bloody," said Laura McLean, a runner from Toronto, who was in the medical tent being treated for dehydration when she was pulled out to make room for victims of the explosions. "They were pulling them into the medical tent."
Cherie Falgoust was waiting for her husband, who was running the race.
"I was expecting my husband any minute," she said. "I don t know what this building is ... it just blew. Just a big bomb, a loud boom, and then glass everywhere. Something hit my head. I don t know what it was. I just ducked."
Runners who had not finished the race were diverted straight down Commonwealth Avenue and into a family meeting area, according to an emergency plan that had been in place.
The White House said President Barack Obama has been notified about the explosions. The administration said it is in contact with state and local authorities and the president directed his administration to provide whatever assistance is necessary in the investigation and response.
Vice President Joe Biden was on a conference call with gun control activists when staffers turned on televisions in his office Monday to view coverage of the explosions. Biden said during the call that his prayers were with those who suffered injuries.
Runners who had not finished the race were diverted straight down Commonwealth Avenue and into a family meeting area, according to an emergency plan that had been in place.
The nearby Prudential Tower, the city s second-tallest building with an upscale shopping mall on the ground, was evacuated, along with the luxury Mandarin Oriental hotel, according to media reports.
Race day got started with 26 seconds of silence in honor of the victims of the December school shooting in Connecticut.
A little more than 2 hours later, the lead runners passed the Mile 26 marker, which was decorated with the Newtown, Connecticut, seal and dedicated to the memory of those killed there.
The annual 26.2-mile (42-kilometer) marathon takes place on Patriot s Day, a state holiday that celebrates the evacuation of Boston by the British in the American Revolution.
