Explosion At Turkey Metro Station Triggers Train Shutdowns

A pipe bomb exploded in a metro station outside of Istanbul, authorities confirmed, with reports of at least one person injured.

At least one person was injured in an explosion near an Istanbul metro stop on Tuesday, Turkish authorities confirmed.

The explosion was caused by a bomb placed behind barriers on an overpass near a metro station in the suburban district of Bayrampasa, authorities told local media.

Passengers were evacuated from the train and walked the tracks to a nearby station.

The train's windows were broken by the blast and two nearby vehicles were damaged Haberturk TV reported. Surrounding stations and trains were temporarily shutdown as police and bomb disposal units investigated the explosion.

Reports on the number of people injured varied greatly. The mayor of Bayrampasa, Atilla Aydiner, told Turkish media five people were injured by a pipe bomb.

The state-run Anadolu Agency reported Istanbul Governor Vasip Sahin as saying the cause of the blast was still unknown. Only one person was slightly injured, he said, contradicting reports from Haberturk and other non-government news agencies that one person was killed.

"As some good news, I can tell you that fortunately only one person got injured," Sahin said in a statement.

"Other than that, there has been no death nor other injuries. [The explosion] was at the center of media attention and occurred in a crowded neighborhood, so it created the sense that it was a huge explosion."

A video of the explosion from a security camera was acquired by Turkish news source DHA.

View this video on YouTube

youtube.com

People in the area tweeted reports of heavy police and firefighter activity and trains being stopped in their tracks.

"We're at the Topkapi stop, subways have stopped," one person tweeted. "Police, fire trucks, ambulances are on their way to the scene. The explosion was really violent."

Patlama nin nedeni henuz belli degil. Suanlik burasi karisik. Olay yerine cok sayida itfaiye ve ozel tim geldi.

Additional reporting by Alp Ozcelik.

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