Istanbul blast: Investigators look into causes
An explosion near a subway station in the Bayrampasa district of Istanbul has left five people injured, according to local officials. Conflicting reports suggest that it has been either a power transformer malfunction or a bomb.
01 December 2015
22:07 GMT- 19:53 GMT
- 19:52 GMT
Istanbul police is currently looking for a middle-aged man who may be responsible for today’s explosion, Turkish Haber Turk TV channel reported. He was seen quickly leaving the area after the blast rocked the Bayrampasa district.
- 18:26 GMT
- 18:25 GMT
A 36-year-old man named Adnan Yalcin was injured in the explosion, local newspaper Yeni Safak reported. He was taken to Haseki Training and Research Hospital, but his condition is reportedly not life threatening.
- 17:43 GMT
A hand-made bomb was the cause of the explosion in Istanbul, Doğan news agency has reported. However, this is yet to be confirmed.
- 17:32 GMT
Since explosions in Ankara on October 10, when two suicide bombers blew themselves up in the middle of a crowd, Turkey has stepped up security to increase safety. The terror attack claimed the lives of 103 people, making it the deadliest in Turkey’s modern history.
- 17:28 GMT
There were no casualties, but six were injured, AFP news agency suggests.
- 17:24 GMT
“The cause of the explosion is not clear. We are investigating all possibilities,” Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin said, according to state-run Anatolia news agency, the Express Tribune reports.
