An explosion near a Christian meeting hall in the capital of Indonesia's North Sumatra, Medan, killed one person and seriously injured at least two others, hospital staff said Sunday.
"We have one person in the surgery room and another in the intensive care unit," a nurse on duty at the intensive care unit of the Herna private hospital in Medan told AFP when questioned on the number of victims rushed there following the blast not far from the hospital.
"There was one woman killed in the blast, but the body was not brought in here but taken directly to Pirngadi (state general hospital)," the nurse said.
She also said at least four others were admitted with minor injuries from the blast but they had already been allowed to leave.
The blast was quite powerful, she said.
The hospital is just a few meters away from the Pardede Hall, a Christian meeting hall where hundreds of people were gathering to mark the 50th anniversary of the Indonesian Council of Churches.
The explosion took place in front of the Pardede Hall and the blast shattered most windows in the hall and in the science and technology department building of the Dharma Agung university next door.
The Medan city police chief could not be reached for comment, with his staff saying he was on site. Other officers and staff at his office declined comment.
The Satunet online news service said the one of the critically injured was a driver of a pedicab which suddenly blew up in front of the hall.
It was unclear whether the blast came from the pedicab or from something it had just passed on the road.
Medan had already seen at least three blasts in the past months caused by home-made bombs but no one had so far been killed.
The explosions took place at or near Christian churches and the home of a Christian priest -- JAKARTA (AFP)
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