In Pics: When the cheers turned to screams and panic

| Updated: Tuesday, April 16, 2013, 18:59 [IST]

Washington, April 16: In a worst bombing since security was tightened after the attacks of September 11, 2001, two bombs ripped through the crowd at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday (local time), killing three people, causing several amputations and injuring more than 100.

Many runners were heading for the finish when a fireball and smoke rose from behind cheering spectators.

"These runners just finished and they don't have legs now," Roupen Bastajian said. "So many of them. There are so many people without legs. It's all blood. There's blood everywhere. You got bones, fragments. It's disgusting. It's like a war zone."

"Somebody's leg flew by my head," said John Ross, a horrified eye-witness to the carnage.
"I gave my belt to stop the blood," bostonherald.com quoted him as saying.

Alicia Shambo, a former US Navy medic, who was at the finish line of the Marathon, said that the "extent of the injuries is just horrible".

Stephen J. Murphy, who too was at the finish line, recalled: "I heard an explosion and then another one 15 seconds later. I saw a guy coming towards me with blood on his face."

"It sounded like a sonic boom. I haven't stopped shaking yet," said Melissa Stanley, who watched her daughter cross the finish line four minutes before the explosions.

When the cheers turned to screams and panic

People run for cover as an explosion goes off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon in Boston on April 15, 2013. Two explosions on Monday claimed three lives and injured over 100.

When the cheers turned to screams and panic

First explosion caught on camera near the finish line of the Boston Marathon in Boston on Monday, April 15, 2013.

When the cheers turned to screams and panic

An injured woman is tended to at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, in Boston on Monday, April 15, 2013. Two explosions shattered the euphoria of the Boston Marathon finish line on Monday.

When the cheers turned to screams and panic

Injured people and debris lie on the sidewalk near the Boston Marathon finish line following an explosion in Boston, Monday.

When the cheers turned to screams and panic

A map of Boston showing two spots where explosions took place on Monday, April 15, 2013.

When the cheers turned to screams and panic

A Marathon runner, thrown off due to the impact of the blast, lies on ground near the finish line of the Boston Marathon in Boston on Monday. Later, he just got up and walked out of the explosion area.

When the cheers turned to screams and panic

A front page of a newspaper on explosions at Boston Marathon finish line on Monday.

When the cheers turned to screams and panic

Injured people are being carried to ambulances as many still remain on the ground due to shock of the explosion near the Boston Marathon finish line in Boston on Monday, Aptil 15, 2013.

When the cheers turned to screams and panic

A long shot of the blast area after the police evacuate injured people near the Boston Marathon finish line in Boston on Monday.

When the cheers turned to screams and panic

People near the blast spot seconds after the first explosion near the finish line of Boston Marathon in Boston on Monday, April 15, 2013.

When the cheers turned to screams and panic

The Boston police and other experts search the blast area for clues and evidence near the finish line of Boston Marathon in Boston on Monday.

When the cheers turned to screams and panic

An injured person is treated while others try to contact their dear ones to tell about their being safe after the explosion at Boston Marathon in Boston on Monday, April 15, 2013.