Hong Kong police said two homemade bombs were found in a train cabin at Lo Wu MTR station on Sunday.
Francis Po, a superintendent of the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, told reporters that a cleaner discovered a plastic bag under the chair at around 3:10pm. Upon closer inspection, MTR staff found suspicious items inside – including electric wires – and called the police.
Po said that after police cordoned off the scene at around 3:50pm, the items suddenly caught fire and generated a loud bang. Officers from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau found two homemade bombs, one of which had exploded. Further analysis will be carried out, he said.
Po said that if the bombs had detonated inside an enclosed space, they could have injured a large number of people. He added that an online group has claimed responsibility for the devices.
“We strongly condemn these extremely violent people. Their act brings us one step closer to terrorism,” he said.
Po said the case was the fourth of its kind in recent months. “We will not tolerate such acts. We will try our best to catch all of [the perpetrators],” he said.
【羅湖港鐵站有爆炸裝置著火燃燒】下午約3時10分左右，港鐵職員在一列已抵達羅湖終點站的載客列車上，發現一個膠袋。職員將膠袋帶到月台後，發現內藏可疑電線裝置，故報警求助。警方立即封鎖現場，等候爆炸品處理課到場。在下午3時50分左右，該可疑物品突然發出聲響並著火燃燒，冒出大量白煙。經爆炸品處理課人員檢查後，發現膠袋內共有兩個爆炸裝置。警方稍後將會見傳媒交代案件詳情。At around 3:10pm, a plastic bag was found unattended on a train arriving at Lo Wu Station. MTR staff found that there was wire inside the bag and reported the case to Police. The Police cordoned the area and Bomb Disposal Officers attended the scene. At around 3:50pm, the suspected explosive device suddenly emitted noise, caught fire and generated smoke.Upon examination, two sets of explosive devices were found inside the bag. The Police will give a standup briefing for details later on.
Posted by 香港警察 Hong Kong Police on Sunday, 2 February 2020
Stick 92, a channel on the messaging app Telegram, has claimed responsibility for the incident.
The name of the channel refers to the result of a traditional fortune stick drawing at the Che Kung Temple last week by the head of the powerful rural body Heung Yee Kuk, which predicted an unlucky year for Hong Kong.
Stick 92 said their members had placed the bombs on a train headed towards the mainland border.
The channel warned that mainlanders and Hongkongers who have visited China should not travel to the city in order to avoid “spreading disease,” or face being “bombed” as a result.
A novel virus was first detected in Wuhan, China, and has infected more than 17,000 worldwide. It bears symptoms similar to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed over 300 people in Hong Kong in 2003.
Stick 92 said they have ways to discreetly plant bombs regardless of how careful the police are.
“We will defend our city. You’re welcome to experience the power of the bombs,” it said.
