Santiago: Authorities Investigate Man Killed by Blast for Terrorist Ties
A man killed by a bomb in a neighborhood in Chile's capital is being investigate for ties to terrorists, Vice News reported.
Bystanders said the man's body was engulfed in flames following the bombing, but law enforcement officials in Santiago did not allow emergency responders to tend to his body because there was another device near or on his person.
"He had another device, that's why nobody helped him," witness Ricardo Aravana said. "He had a ski mask and a bag."
Authorities said Sergio Landskron died from the bomb detonating while he was allegedly carrying it Thursday.
But his brother, Bastián Landskron, said that while he could not positively identify the body, he was sure it was his brother who had died and revealed during a radio interview that Sergio Landskron was a drug addict and had been living on the streets for years.
Bastian Landskron said he believes his brother was innocent though.
Neighbors on the street tried to throw water and blankets in the direction of Sergio Landskron's burning body, since medical responders were prevented from reaching him.
Authorities have not been able to link him to any anarchist cells in Chile, but the police said they are still investigating Landskron's death as a possible terrorism incident.
The incident occurred almost 20 days after a group calling itself Conspiracy of Cells of Fire implicated itself in a Sept. 8 subway shopping center bombing that which injured 14 people.
Mario Henríquez, the director of the hospital where Landskron was taken, said that the lack of emergency medical attention did not contribute to Landskron's fate.
Henriquez said Landskron's hand had been amputated and skull had been fractured from the blast. The fracture exposed brain matter, Henriquez said, and Landskron was pronounced dead within minutes of arriving at the hospital.
"The wound alone was severe enough that when we got here and evaluated the patient's situation there was nothing to do for him," Henríquez said. "The doctors evaluated him and there was no possibility of operating."
But the blast was the latest in a string of attacks that has caused the federal government to seek anti-terrorist law reforms and to increase the freedom for authorities to investigate suspicious groups.
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