Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The plaza where the attack took place was cordoned off as paramedics helped the injured
A homemade bomb has exploded at a restaurant in Mississauga, Canada's sixth largest city, injuring 15 people.
Police said two suspects entered the Bombay Bhel restaurant in the Ontario city late on Thursday and detonated the improvised bomb.
Ambulance services said that three of the 15 people taken to hospital had "critical blast injuries".
Two male suspects fled the scene immediately after the explosion in the city, which is near Toronto.
Peel Regional Police said they had received a call about the incident at 22:32 local time (02:32 GMT).
Skip Twitter post by @PeelPoliceMedia 2 suspects attended the scene, detonated an Improvised Explosive Device within the restaurant. Several injured were taken to local hospital and 3 in critical condition were taken to a Toronto Trauma Centre. pic.twitter.com/yzCT59UVN6 — Peel Regional Police (@PeelPoliceMedia) May 25, 2018 Report
Police issued CCTV footage of the two suspects, describing them both as men around 5ft 10 in height with light or fair skin, and appealing for help identifying them.
One man was described as "stocky" and in his mid-20s, while the other was of thin build. Both wore blue jeans and dark hoodies, and had covered their faces.
The motive for the attack is unknown.
Sergeant Matt Bertram told the Associated Press the two men just "dropped off this device, and took off right away".
"We have no indication to call it a hate crime or any kind of terrorism act," he added.
Canadian broadcaster CBC reported a heavy police presence, complete with "tactical teams" - and said an officer on the scene could not say whether there was a further threat to public safety.
One eyewitness speaking to CBC said he was at a different restaurant nearby when the explosion happened. He suggested that a birthday party, possibly involving children, was taking place inside Bombay Bhel at the time of the blast.
Meanwhile, Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj said she was in touch with the country's representatives in Canada following the attack on an Indian restaurant, promising "our missions will work round the clock".
Mississauga, a large city on the shore of Lake Ontario, borders the larger city of Toronto and is home to Toronto Pearson International Airport.
More than a dozen people were injured after an improvised explosive device was detonated inside a restaurant in Mississauga, a Canadian city neighbouring Toronto.
About 15 people were taken to hospital after the blast at the Bombay Bhel restaurant. Three people, understood to be Indian-Canadians, whose injuries were initially described as critical by the Peel regional paramedic service were later said to be in a stable condition.
Peel regional police said on Twitter that two men in their mid-20s had detonated an improvised explosive device inside the restaurant. The men, whose faces had been covered, fled the scene shortly after dropping the device.
“We have no indication to call it a hate crime or any kind of terrorism act,” said Sgt Matt Bertram.
“Nothing was said by these individuals,” he added. “It appears they just went in, dropped off this device, and took off right away.”
Police posted a photograph on Twitter that appears to show two people with dark zip-up hoodies walking in with one of them carrying something. It was too early to determine what the device was, said Bertram.
“Different callers called in and said it was firecrackers or some said gunshot sort of noises. I don’t think it was an explosion that was rocking anything,” he said, Associated Press reported. “Until we can get in there and analyse the material after the search warrant we won’t be able to say what it was.”
Play Video 0:42 Suspects sought after Canada restaurant explosion – video
Roads in the area were closed and a large police presence was at the scene, with heavily armed tactical officers arriving as part of the large emergency response, local media reported.
The blast occurred just after 10:30pm, media reported. Mississauga, Canada’s sixth-largest city, with a population of 700,000, lies about 20 miles (32km) west of Toronto.
Andre Larrivee, who lives nearby, told CTV he was watching television when he heard a loud explosion.
Hours after the incident, the Indian consulate in Toronto tweeted it had opened a helpline for those seeking assistance following the blast.
Vikas Swarup, India’s high commissioner to Canada, tweeted that India’s consul general in Toronto had visited the injured in hospital.
The blast comes a month after a driver drove his white Ryder rental van into a lunch-hour crowd in Toronto, killing 10 people and injuring 15.
A bomb has exploded at a suburban Indian restaurant in the Canadian city of Mississauga, injuring more than a dozen people.
Two men entered the Bombay Bhel restaurant in the city, near Toronto, and detonated the improvised explosive device, police said.
The pair fled the scene late on Thursday and a manhunt is under way. The motive for the attack is unknown and there was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Paramedics took 15 people to hospital. Three of those hurt had what were described as "critical blast injuries".
Police posted a photograph on Twitter showing two suspects with dark zip-up hoodies walking into the restaurant moments before the bomb went off. One of them was carrying an unidentified object.
Police are searching for two men in connection with an improvised explosive device (IED) blast inside a restaurant in Mississauga, Ont., that wounded 15 people.
Three people who suffered critical injuries in the Thursday blast were rushed to a Toronto trauma centre. They were listed in stable condition Friday.
Jennifer Evans, Peel Regional Police chief, said the three include a 35-year-old Brampton man, a 62-year-old Mississauga woman and a 48-year-old Mississauga woman.
"I want to assure everyone that every police resource is being used to locate the people responsible for this horrendous act," Evans told reporters near the scene Friday morning.
Three people were in critical condition Friday, while the remaining 12 have minor injuries. (Peel Regional Police/Twitter) Other victims, who range in age from 23 to 69 years, have been treated and released. Evans said the victims were taken to three hospitals.
According to police, two males with their faces covered to conceal their identities entered the Bombay Bhel restaurant, at 5035 Hurontario St., dropped an IED and fled. Police believe the two fled in a vehicle.
Police received a call at about 10:30 p.m. ET.
Evans said Peel police have notified police in Toronto, York, Durham and Halton Regions as well as the Ontario Provincial Police and the RCMP as they search for two suspects.
She said two separate, private parties were occurring in the restaurant. Children under age 10 were at the parties, but not injured.
Evans said it's too early to say if the blast in the area of Hurontario Street and Eglinton Avenue East was terror related.
"There is no indication that this is a terrorist act. There is no indication that this is a hate crime. We have not ruled anything out."
Emergency responders were called to the scene around 10:30 p.m. Thursday. (Tony Smyth/CBC)
Police are describing one suspect as:
5-foot-10
Stocky build.
In his mid-20s.
Believed to have been wearing dark blue jeans, a dark zip-up hoodie pulled over his head, a baseball cap with a light grey peak, and with his face covered with black cloth.
The second male is:
Around 5-foot-9 to 5-foot-10.
Fair skin.
Thin build.
Faded blue jeans.
Dark hoodie pulled over his head along with a grey T-shirt and dark skate shoes.
Shortly after the incident, Peel police Sgt. Matt Bertram said the attackers didn't say anything.
"It appears they just went in, dropped off this device and took off right away."
Bertram said the type of device used isn't yet known.
"Until we can get in there and analyze the material after the search warrant, we won't be able to say what it was."
Tactical teams outside restaurant
Tactical teams could be seen outside the restaurant as patients were loaded into ambulances.
Const. Irina Yashnik said they were there as a part of a "multi-unit" response but would not say if there is any threat to public safety.
Peel Region paramedics took 15 patients to hospital after the blast. (Tony Smyth/CBC)
Yashnik could not say where in the building the blast originated or how many people were inside at the time. The restaurant was evacuated and the plaza was expected to be sealed off for investigation until at least morning. Within hours, police had tweeted photos of the suspects.
'It was really loud'
Joe Korstanje, of Peel Regional Paramedic Services, said three people suffered critical injuries.
"We transported three of them to trauma centres in what I would say is critical condition just from blast injuries."
Explosion: Multiple people injured following reports of an explosion at Bambay Bhel Restaurant 5035 Hurontario St near Eglinton in Mississauga. pic.twitter.com/1Tb9ODag88 —@LateNightCam @Peel_Paramedics on scene with multiple patients at an explosion in Mississauga —@Peel_Paramedics
Korstanje said the remaining 12 victims suffered minor and superficial injuries.
Rafael Concaceicao, a student from Sao Paulo, Brazil, was on the patio of a restaurant close to Bombay Bhel when he heard the explosion, and rushed to help.
"Glass was broken in the street. There was a child's birthday party. Everything was destroyed. Lots of blood in the floor. Many people were screaming. They were trying to run out from the restaurant. There was a guy with glass inside his eyes. Many people were bleeding so much."
Andre Larrivee, who lives in a nearby condo, said he was watching television and heard a loud explosion.
"It was really loud," he said, comparing the noise to an electric generator that had exploded at a nearby construction site recently.
Other people who were shopping in neighbouring stores — and waiting for their vehicles to be released from behind the police tape — also reported hearing a loud explosion.
India's Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj said in a tweet that consular support was available.
