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Ridge runners at Boston Marathon

Department of Foreign Affairs says no Canadians injured in the Boston bombings. Five locals took part in the marathon.
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A pair of explosions rocked the Boston Marathon around 2:50 p.m. local time Monday. Four runners from Maple Ridge were participating in the event.

Four runners from Maple Ridge and one from Pitt Meadows were taking part in the Boston Marathon which was rocked by a pair of explosions Monday.

Coverage from New England reports three are dead and approximately 175 injured.

The loved ones of five local runners waited anxiously for word that they are safe. It was difficult to get information about the runners out of Boston but five hours after the first blast,the Department of Foreign Affairs finally confirmed that no Canadians were injured. Of the 27,000 people who ran the marathon, about 2,000 were Canadians.

According to Boston police, the blasts took place approximately two hours after the winners crossed the finish line, at 2:50 p.m. Boston time. The near-simultaneous blasts struck about 90 metres apart, knocking some spectators off their feet.

CTV News reports paramedics rushed to treat the injured; some bloody, others reportedly missing limbs.

Sandra Speth has been watching the coverage on CNN and waiting for a phone call. Her 50-year-old husband Martin was at his first trip to one of the world's most popular races.

The news agency has advised family members not to bother trying to call through.

She said about half of the runners had finished when the bombs went off.

"I'm just hoping that he was slow," she said on Monday night, hours after the bombs went off.

She said more than five hours after the blasts, and after numerous texts by family members, there has been no response from her husband.

"I'm just ill."

Three other local runners in the Boston Marathon from Maple Ridge were Scott Shupe, 48, Mindy Olson, 42, and Diana Jones, 38.

Pitt Meadows resident Steve Di Tomaso (pictured on right after the race) said in a Facebook post that he is okay, and was able to get a text out to family.

The owner of Envision Fitness had finished the marathon about an hour before the blasts, and was about two and a half blocks away, in a Starbucks. He and his wife heard the blasts, but did not think of a terrorist bomb. Then they saw the police and ambulance response, and runners climbing barricades to try and get out the way. The announcer was asking people to clear the area in a clearly stricken tone.

“We really didn’t know what was going on,” he said.

They heard that there had been a bomb, and people had been hurt, and decided to get out of the city. They texted his sister in law, to let people back home know they were safe.

“The fortunate thing was that there were a lot of EMS people there,” he said, noting there are always ambulances on hand to deal with the medical emergencies the runners may encounter.

It was the first Boston Marathon for Di Tomaso.

“It was otherwise and amazing day, so I have a lot of mixed feelings.”

He won’t let it stop him from returning to the event in the future, or attending other high profile sporting events.

“I would go. It would be in the back of my mind somewhere, but how can you stop that.

“You can’t live in fear.”

In a press conference streamed live via the web, U.S President Barack Obama vowed to find out who was behind the bombings.

"Make no mistake, we will get to the bottom of this," said Obama.

"Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued the following statement on the explosions at the Boston Marathon: “I was shocked to learn of the explosions that occurred today during the running of the Boston Marathon. It is truly a sad day when an event as inspiring as the Boston Marathon is clouded by such senseless violence.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with those injured or affected by this horrible incident.  We stand with our American neighbours in this difficult time.”

According to Representative Bill Keating of Massachusetts, a member of the Homeland Security Committee, no organizations have claimed responsibility for the attacks yet.

 

LINKS

• Friends and relatives of Canadians believed to be affected by the Boston Marathon explosions who need assistance, can contact @TravelGoC, 1-800-387-3124 or email sos@international.gc.ca.

• If you are concerned for a friend or family member who ran the Boston Marathon today, you can see their last check-in here: raceday.baa.org/individual.html.

• Google has a people finder: http://google.org/personfinder/2013-boston-explosions.

• Marathon runners who are safe and families looking for loved ones can visit the Red Cross: http://safeandwell.communityos.org/cms/index.php.

• If you are looking for missing persons related to the explosions, call the Mayor's Missing Person's hotline at 1-617-635-4500.



Neil Corbett

About the Author: Neil Corbett

I have been a journalist for more than 30 years, the past decade with the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News.
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