Accessibility links

Breaking News
News

Body Found in Rubble of Madrid Airport Bombing


Rescue workers at Madrid's airport have found the body of one of two Ecuadorean men missing since a Saturday car bombing blamed on Basque separatists.

Spain's Interior Ministry says rescuers Wednesday located the body of 35-year-old Carlos Alonso Palate, but it was taking time to remove the body from a car flattened by tons of concrete rubble in the parking structure.

Police say rescuers are still searching for the second missing man. Witnesses said they had seen the two Ecuadoreans sleeping in cars near the site of the explosion. The blast wounded about 20 other people.

A leader of the outlawed political wing of the Basque separatist group ETA, Joseba Alvarez told Basque radio on Wednesday that the Madrid bombing caught his movement by surprise. His comment raised the possibility of a split among Basque separatists.

ETA has not claimed responsibility for the bombing at the airport, but Spanish authorities say they received a telephoned warning before the explosion from a man who said he represented the group.

In March, ETA declared what it called a permanent ceasefire in its independence campaign, which has claimed more than 800 lives since 1968.

The death of the Ecuadorean man is the first linked to ETA since 2003.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

XS
SM
MD
LG