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CNN Live Sunday

Bomb Blast Kills 4 in Netanya, Israel

Aired May 19, 2002 - 17:12   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now onto the Middle East, where a period of relative calm was shattered by a suicide bombing today. It happened in the coastal town of Netanya, and there were dozens of casualties. CNN's Anand Naidoo is standing by live with the latest details on that.

ANAND NAIDOO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, let me update you on the casualty figures straight off the top. The death toll from that explosion that you spoke about has now risen to four. Two more people died in hospital from their injuries. Initially, an Israeli civilian and the bomber died in the initial bomb blast. Fifty-six people have been injured in that explosion here in Netanya. Of those 56 people, 11 are in serious condition. I just talked to an official from the Netanya mayor's office just a few minutes ago, and she tells me that those 11 people are undergoing surgery right now.

That bomb blast taking place at 4:15 in the afternoon, Sunday afternoon here in Netanya, at this very crowded fruit and vegetable market. Netanya is a resort town, which is about 20 miles north of Tel Aviv, and it's about eight to 10 miles at least west of the north West Bank town of Tulkarem.

Now, I have here with me Kaira Aria, who -- you were shopping for fruits and vegetables when that bomb went off. Tell us what happened.

KAIRA ARIA, EYEWITNESS: I am a tourist from Estonia, and I chop almost every day here, so I went to do my usual shopping. And I was like 10 meters away from this part, what you see here. And I heard terrible, terrible noise, I can say like that only because I didn't know what was happening exactly. My mind stuck, and I stuck. I could not move. And so, this is so terrible experience I cannot even explain by words.

NAIDOO: Now you see here that you have been injured. What happened?

ARIA: I just, thank God, bomb blast didn't hurt me, but I ran, so I fell and I hurt my leg. I hope it's not broken.

NAIDOO: We hope so, too. Thank you, Kaira Aria, who was here at the scene when that bomb blast went off.

Now, the police here are telling us that they did not receive any kind of specific warning before this blast went off. What they're telling us that they have been receiving general warnings, and these warnings they have been receiving for the past 18 months. Minutes after this blast took place, the clean-up crews, the investigators were here. Israel have become experts at this kind of thing. It's a very dubious distinction; I don't think any other country wants to claim that distinction -- but they were here, and they've cleaned up.

And as you can see behind me, which was the area which was where the actually bomb was set off, it's just -- I am standing three feet in front of where the bomb went off. It's all being cleaned up right now, and most of the area around here has been cleaned up -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Anand Naidoo, thank you very much for joining us.

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