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PA/15/2003 /26 August
Australian Government condemns bombings in Mumbai
The following is a statement by the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Mr Alexander Downer, made on 26 August
I condemn in the strongest terms yesterday's simultaneous bombings at two prominent locations in Mumbai - the Gateway of India and Zavery Bazar. The bombings follow a series of smaller-scale bombings in Mumbai which have killed 15 people in the past eight months. This is the largest scale act of terrorism in Mumbai since simultaneous blasts at the city's stock exchange in 1993.
Yesterday's attacks reportedly killed up to 48 people and injured over 115 and numbers are expected to rise. Australians will deeply sympathise with the families of those affected given our own experience of terrorism.
The Australian Consulate-General in Mumbai has been working closely with Indian officials to ascertain whether any foreigners were injured. At this stage we are not aware of any Australian casualties.
I will be meeting my Indian counterpart, Mr Yashwant Sinha, in Adelaide this Thursday. Terrorism will be a central theme of our discussions, a theme made all the more pertinent by yesterday's tragic events.
For further details, please contact Mr Rory Medcalf, First Secretary (Political), on telephone 26888223, ext. 197.