Explosion at branch bank reported; none injured [Updated]
An explosion took place at a bank branch in the 13th district of Budapest early this morning, the National Police Headquarters (ORFK) has reported. “According to data available at present, the explosion, was caused by an explosive material of unknown type and composition,” read the police report in part. “The criminal act was not intended to kill or maim, and nobody was injured.”
The blast occurred at 4:18 in the morning, and authorities are currently seeking the driver of a motorcycle without number plates who left the scene of the crime.
An MTI correspondent said that the blast had damaged the entrances to CIB Bank and Budapest Bank.
Branches of Erste Bank, FHB, UniCredit and OTP Bank are in the immediate vicinity of the site.
Update: Security specialist Nándor Jasenszky later informed MTI that the choice of the site of the blast – a specific bank branch in close proximity to several others – could be seen as a message. But Jasenszky noted that nobody had yet taken responsibility for the explosion, as would be expected in the case of a politically-motivated act.
Press reports that homeless people were instructed to leave the site before the blast suggest the aim was to damage only the property, Jasenszky said.
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