By KUNA,
Tokyo : Two people were killed and 14 injured on Monday in two separate explosions on public buses in downtown Kunming, capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province, state press reported.
One explosion occurred at 7:10 a.m. (2310 GMT Sunday) at a bus stop, while the other happened at the nearby road intersection at 8:05 a.m. (0005 GMT), Xinhua News Agency said.
Local police have reached a preliminarily judgment that the two explosions were deliberate, said Xinhua, giving no details.
The area around the site of the first explosion, which was condoned off by the police, was scattered with broken glass and the front of the destroyed bus could be seen.
One witness recalled hearing a loud noise and then saw the bus blasted into pieces. All the injured have been hospitalized.
Authorities in Yunnan have ordered transport departments to tighten security by increasing patrols and installing new checkup posts to prevent the perpetrators from fleeing. Border guards have also tightened security at all border exit and entry points.
Police are investigating the cause of the explosions, which happened amid tight security less than three weeks before the Beijing Olympics. To deal with possible threats, an anti-terrorist force of nearly 100,000 commandos, police, and troops is on high alert for the games, which will start on August 8.
Earlier this month, the Chinese authorities said police in China’s Muslim-populated Xinjiang, the country’s northwest, have arrested 82 suspected terrorists who allegedly planned to sabotage the Beijing Olympics.