15 Injured in S. Africa Blast : Bomb Planted Next to Whites’ Bus Depot

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — A bomb exploded in a concrete trash bin at rush hour today next to the main bus terminal for white commuters, and police said 15 people were injured.

The blast shattered windows of four buses, damaged a fast-food cafe and broke the windows of buildings and cars in the area.

The blast left dazed pedestrians wandering around in shock, witnesses said.

Injured were nine white men, five white women and a black man, said police Capt. C. J. Marais.

Some victims were treated on the sidewalk as buses continued to pull in and out of the outdoors terminal at Van der Bijl Square in the Johannesburg City Center after the 5:10 p.m. explosion.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which occurred in a trash bin designed to muffle the effects of bombs. Such bins were installed throughout the city last year.

There have been more than 100 bombings in the country since the June 12, 1986, national state of emergency was declared. Authorities have blamed the outlawed African National Congress, the main guerrilla group fighting to overthrow the government and end apartheid, for most of the blasts.