7 Injured in Blast at El Al Counter at Madrid Airport

A bomb planted in luggage exploded today at Israel’s El Al Airlines counter at Barajas Airport, and police said seven people were injured. Bomb experts later exploded another suspicious-looking suitcase, officials said.

Among the injured were the El Al security chief, a Spanish police officer and five travelers, police said. Hospital officials said three people were in serious condition.

Madrid’s Civil Defense spokesman Rafael Noja said at least two people were arrested, but he refused to give their names or other details. Police earlier said that an “Arab-looking” man believed to be the owner of the suitcase with the bomb was arrested.

Apparently Not Hurt

Police initially said the arrested man was wounded, but a reporter said he appeared uninjured and Noja did not include the suspect among the injured.

The explosion occurred at 3:30 p.m., 15 minutes before the weekly El Al Flight 396 was to depart for Tel Aviv. It caused extensive damage to the counter area and knocked out the glass doors leading into the international terminal.

Noja said El Al security chief Nir Ran took the suitcase off the conveyor belt when he saw smoke coming from it. The suitcase then exploded, injuring Ran, Spanish police Officer Francisco Gonzalez and five travelers, Noja said.

He said bomb experts exploded a second suitcase that looked suspicious, but they gave no other details. It was not immediately clear if explosives were in the second suitcase.

Passengers Evacuated

The passengers were evacuated from Flight 396 as Spanish police searched for any additional explosives.

“I was reading a paper when I saw the El Al guy with a fire extinguisher running towards a suitcase that had smoke coming out of it,” Carlos Lozano, an Argentine who was among the injured, told the Associated Press.

“Then I heard a big explosion, glass broke all over and the ceiling started falling in,” he said.

In Tel Aviv, El Al spokesman Nachman Kleiman said early reports indicated that the bomb was planted in a bag carried by the last passenger to be checked in for Flight 396. He said the bomb appeared to have been “something as small as an aerosol can.”

The blast was the second in the airport’s history. The first, in July, 1979, was claimed by the Basque separatist organization, ETA.

Earlier today, the Israeli ambassador to Spain, Samuel Haddas, arrived in Madrid from Tel Aviv on an El Al flight.