PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC:
A BOMB blast rocked upper Port of Spain shortly before noon yesterday forcing police and army officers to block off the area as panic-stricken pedestrians scampered to safety.
There were no reports of injuries.
Officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) were at the scene shortly after the blast, which sent debris flying into the air.
The explosion occurred on the pavement outside a construction site at Spektakula Forum, a popular calypso tent on Henry Street in Port of Spain.
Reports are that a bottle containing a black substance has been seized and a man was seen running away from the scene.
Mayor of Port of Spain Murchison Brown confirmed there were no injuries and that damage to the construction site seems to be minimal.
Businesses in the area have, however, been shut down and crime scene investigators are on the scene.
"At this time I cannot say whether this is a copycat of the other four bombings," Brown said.
He appealed to citizens to desist from hurting the country's image if they really loved T&T.
"What I can ask once again if you really love this country, you wouldn't do anything to harm it or harm the people," Brown said.
FULL SUPPORT FOR COPS
He said he intends to give the police the fullest support to bring the perpetrators to justice adding that there was no question that people and property were at risk.
This is the fifth in a series of bombings in the country for the year, the first was on July 11 in downtown Frederick Street, Port of Spain in which 14 people were injured including one woman who lost a leg.
Yesterday's blast comes 13 days after an explosive device went off in the busy St James area on October 14, in the western part of the country, injuring 11 people and causing damage to several properties.
It was only on Tuesday that Prime Minister Patrick Manning and Director of the FBI Robert Mueller met at Whitehall in Port of Spain to discuss the recent spate of bombings and kidnappings in the country.
Forensic testing is still being carried out on material seized from the St James bombing even as this latest explosion has occurred and the National Security Minister Martin Joseph has confirmed that there is a link between two of the four earlier bombings.
The Manning administration has come under attack for the escalating crime in the country and last Saturday some 20,000 people took part in a Death March in the city to protest the high crime levels in the country.
