NEW SCARE.. CHAMPIONS LEAGUE BOMB ATTACK:
A CHAMPIONS League game was postponed last night after “bomb” blasts rocked the Borussia Dortmund team bus, injuring a player.
Three explosions reportedly blew out the coach’s windows as the German side left the team hotel for the quarter-final clash with Monaco.
Borussia Dortmund’s Spanish defender Marc Bartra, 26, was taken to hospital with arm injuries as police flooded the Hochsten area of the city – six miles from the club’s Signal Iduna Park home ground.
A statement on the club’s Twitter account said: “Bomb explosion on the team bus at the team hotel.
“There was an incident on departure of our bus. One person was injured. More information will follow.”
German newspaper Bild later said three explosions had been reported and had been “deposited on the street in front of the bus”.
Local police tweeted: “According to the first findings, we expect [it was] an attack with serious explosives!”
Officer Gunnar Wortmann said: “We’ll work through the whole night. All the forces in Dortmund are mobilised.” Dortmund defender Lukasz Piszczek was quoted by a Polish newspaper, saying: “When we drove alongside cars, a bomb went up at the fence. Bartra has cuts on his arm. He’s in the hospital.”
An unconfirmed report claimed police were looking for a drone and the possibility other explosives had been placed.
The bus carrying the squad and managerial and medical staff had just left the team hotel shortly after 7pm. Coach Thomas Tuchel and the players were pictured looking bewildered as they stood on a grass verge outside the damaged vehicle. HansJoachim Watzke, the Borussia Dortmund CEO, said: “The team is in a shock. You will not get those pictures out of your head. I hope the team is able to compete on the field”.
In a statement early last night, local police said: “According to what we currently know, the wheels of the bus totally or partly burst and one person was injured. It is not yet possible to say exactly what the explosion was or exactly where something exploded.”
Officials have said the game will now take place tonight.
The whole team is in shock. You will not get pictures out of your head HANS-JOACHIM WATZKE BORUSSIA DORTMUND CEO