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Explosion rocks Olympic Park in Atlanta
July 27, 1996
Web posted at: 2:15 a.m. EDT
ATLANTA (CNN) -- An explosion sounded through downtown Atlanta early Saturday morning, injuring perhaps dozens of people and sending people scattering from Centennial Park. The explosion occurred during a concert in the park, at the AT&T Global Village stage.
Witnesses said the explosion occurred without any fire or smoke. Some said the explosion occurred in a trash can, Reuters reported.
"The trash can exploded in front of my eyes. People were screaming. One person's head was cut from side to side," Greg Guice told reporters. Television stations quoted fire officials as saying up to 200 people could be injured.
A German TV network was in the midst of interviewing U.S. simmer Janet Evans when the explosion occurred; it jolted Evans and the German crew; people fled the area.
There are some reports an electric transformer might have exploded, but officials have not said what they believe the cause might be.
Ambulances and police vehicles immediately rushed to the scene, and several people were seen being treated for injuries.
The park immediately was closed, security guards closed access to some media members who tried to get to the scene.
Atlanta has been under and intense security blanket as it hosts the summer Olympic games. As many as 30,000 security troops are guarding the city.
Centennial Park is an open facility housing Olympic sponsors' tents, located in downtown Atlanta directly across the street from CNN Center.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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