Two teenagers riding a motorcycle were nearly killed after another abandoned motorcycle exploded outside a hotel in the southern Colombian town of Samaniego.
A surveillance camera shows residents walking past the motorcycle, unaware that it was loaded with explosives, as a National Police van reversed into the nearby compound.
Civilians on two bicycles and a pickup truck can also be seen driving past the explosives-laden vehicle in the seconds before the blast on Thursday afternoon.
The two teenagers, whose names were not released, were heading to a provincial gang meeting and turned left at the corner of the hotel where they were staying when the motorcycle bomb detonated.
The impact of the explosion knocked them to the ground as flames engulfed the bombed-out motorcycle.
Two teenagers on a motorcycle approach the bomb-laden motorcycle (circled in red) that was abandoned in front of a hotel and exploded in Samaniego, Colombia, on Thursday.
A motorcycle packed with explosives exploded Thursday near a hotel and a National Police station in Samaniego, Colombia. Authorities are investigating whether the suspects were targeting the hotel or the police.
The teenager on the motorcycle quickly stood up and walked to the opposite sidewalk and then walked back to help his friend, who slowly got to his feet.
They were rushed to the Lorencita Villegas Hospital in Santos, the National Police said in a statement to DailyMail.com.
Noticias Caracol reported that a third person, who was inside the hotel, was also injured.
One of the victims who was travelling on the motorcycle was later transferred to a medical centre in the municipality of Pasto and is in stable condition.
The National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia identified double bassist Jorge Prada as one of the victims.
The bombing did not deter residents and gang members from attending the Provincial Band Meeting, where the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia performed.
Two teenagers stand near their wrecked motorbike which was left lying on the ground after a motorbike bomb attack (pictured, on fire, left). The teenagers were taken to a local medical centre where they received treatment. The severity of their injuries is not known.
The National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia performed this Thursday at the Provincial Band Meeting after a bomb attack on a motorcycle injured three people, including double bass player Jorge Prada
“Our mission as a Symphonic Band and Association is to bring sounds of peace and reconciliation to all corners of Colombia,” the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia said in a statement.
We firmly believe that music is a universal language capable of healing, uniting and transforming. If the sound of bombs reaches our territories, our sounds of peace and hope, through music, will resonate even louder.
Investigators are looking into whether the suspects behind the attack targeted the hotel or the National Police station, Noticias Caracol reported.
Residents in the area told authorities that concerns have increased in the city due to the presence of the National Liberation Army, the Marxist-Leninist guerrilla group, according to El Colombiano.
Residents walk past the abandoned motorcycle packed with explosives moments before it detonated and injured three people in Samaniego, Colombia, on Thursday.
In the image: The consequences of the bombing of Samaniego
The Nariño department government has used the city of Samaniego to hold rounds of peace talks with leaders of the guerrilla group, recognized as a terrorist organization by Canada, Colombia, the European Union, New Zealand and the United States.
Congressman Erick Velasco from Nariño, without mentioning the terrorist group by name, called on it to lay down its arms and agree to a peace treaty.
‘I reject the cowardly motor bomb attack perpetrated against the population of Samaniego and I ask the Minister of Defense to take measures to guarantee the well-being and protection of the community,’ Velasco wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
‘I demand that the violent ones cease their violence and have the courage to commit to the peace that Nariño demands and needs.’
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