By IANS,
Pune: “We are not afraid, these things can happen everywhere,” was the refrain of most foreign tourists here Sunday, a day after a terror attack on a popular eatery frequented by foreigners killed nine people.
Looking visibly shaken and awaiting news of one of their friends who was injured in the blast, a foreigner couple outside the Sassoon Hospital said the bombing at the German Bakery Saturday evening had failed to scare them.
“We were at the spot (German Bakery) at the time of the blast. We helped to get the injured into ambulances… but we are not afraid. Because if you are scared, you will not be able to go anywhere,” the couple told reporters.
“We are waiting for news of one of our friends who was injured in the blast,” they added.
Another tourist, who said he has been coming to India every year for the past 10 years and is a regular to the German Bakery, told reporters: “I come to India every year for two months and visit the Osho Ashram (near the blast site). I am a regular at the German Bakery. So when my sister came down from Canada, I decided to show her around the place.”
“We were walking around the area at around 3.30 p.m. when we crossed the bakery and I saw that it was full of people. The cashier saw me and waved – maybe it was his last wave, because I don’t know if he was killed,” he said.
“I messaged my daughter later, saying that I was not a part of the blast,” he added.
An Indonesian tourist said: “I had come for breakfast at the bakery Saturday morning and when I came to know of the blast later, I was shocked. But I am not scared. There was a 9/11 in the US, there are blasts in Indonesia… So these things can happen anywhere,” she told a reporter, not wishing to be named.
Nine people were killed in Saturday’s terror attacks in Pune, of which six have been identified as Indians. In addition, 57 people were injured.