JAKARTA, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Two high explosive bombs rocked two luxurious hotels of Ritz Carlton and JW Marriot in central Jakarta Friday morning, killing at least 9 people and wounding more than 50.
The death toll rose to nine after the life of Timothy Mackay, the 60-year-old president of PT Holcim from New Zealand, could not be saved in hospital, the hospital official said.
Earlier, Minister for Politics, Law and Security and Minister Widodo AS confirmed 8 people were killed on the sites. "Six of them killed in JW Marriot Hotel and two others in Ritz Carlton."
The minister said nearly a half of the victims were foreigners, among which were Japanese and New Zealand citizens.
The minister said the first blast took place at 6:45 Jakarta time (2345 GMT Thursday) and two minutes later the second one occurred. The two hotels were located in two sides of a busy business center in the city center.
An eye witness said she saw at least three foreigners with blood on their bodies were carried out to an ambulance. The wounded persons were rushed to the nearby MMC Jakarta Hospital and Medistra Hospital.
In the MMC Jakarta Hospital, there were two foreigners out of ten wounded people. One foreigner has been shifted to Pertamina Hospital and the other is undergoing surgery.
The explosions broke windows at the hotels while huge sound were heard, the witness said. A television footage of Metro TV showed part of the front windows of the Ritz Carlton Hotel were broken and some guests with sleeping clothes were still outside the building.
A witness named only Yanuar who survived the blast in Marriot Hotel said that the blast occurred at the lobby of the hotel. "I was smashed a few meters away, " he said.
In the Ritz Carlton Hotel, the explosion took place at the Erlangga Restaurant at the third floor.
Police evacuated employees of the two hotels and office buildings around the hotels and are combing the sites, searching for other victims.
It is still unclear whether the blasts were caused by bombs. A police special bomb squad is checking the blasts.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and National Police chief General Bambang Hendarso Danuri are to visit the sites, a text message from the Statte Palace and the television said.
Manchester United team, which planned to stay in the hotel on Saturday for its exhibition game on Monday, finally aborted its plan, Metro television said.
In August 2003, the Marriott Hotel was hit by terrorist suicide bombings believed from the Southeast Asia terrorist network of Jemaah Islmiyah, killing scores of people.
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