MEXICO: Grenade attack on Monterrey casino kills at least 30

Record ID: 303878

  • Title: MEXICO: Grenade attack on Monterrey casino kills at least 30
  • Date: 27th August 2011
  • Summary: BODY LYING ON PAVEMENT OUTSIDE CASINO
  • Embargoed: 11th September 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Mexico, Mexico
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: Crime
  • Reuters ID: LVA6VZ10R5WQ0TQPT8VLPKR2HYAM
  • Story Text: Armed men threw a grenade into a casino in northern Mexico, killing at least 30 people and setting fire to the building, local media and a Reuters witness reported on Thursday (August 25).
    A dozen people are presumed to be trapped inside the Casino Royale building as smoke billowed out into the street with frantic emergency services desperately searching the building for victims.
    The army, Red Cross and firemen were quickly at the scene while nurses started to line up stretchers and attend to victims waiting inside ambulances.
    "I was waiting for them to pass me when I saw some vehicles," said a witness. "Then, I heard the explosion and I hit the ground and I didn't see any more. I heard a total of four explosions. Then, I saw smoke and people leaving the casino At that moment, I ran to the corner and I hid, that's all I saw. I saw people running but that is all I saw."
    Local media said there were at least 30 people killed in the attack, but with emergency teams desperately scouring the casino for more bodies, many expect the death toll to rise.
    Monterrey, the country's richest city and an industrial hotspot 230 km (140 miles) from the Texan border, has become increasingly violent in the last year as the government's war against drug cartels has enveloped the city, although it was not clear whether organized crime was involved in the grenade attack.
    This is the second incident involving grenades in Mexico this month. Two weeks ago, another group of armed men hurled a grenade into a popular area of the Gulf port city of Veracruz, killing one person.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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