Bomb blast at Belfast hotel

A car bomb exploded at a hotel in south Belfast last night. Police said there were no reports of casualties, but the hotel was extensively damaged.

The bomb went off at the Drumkeen Hotel in the Ormeau Road area 15 minutes after police received a warning that a device had been placed in the hotel car park. The hotel had been evacuated and nearby houses were being cleared when the bomb went off, shattering nearly every window in the hotel. The blast was heard 10 miles away.

Police were also investigating bomb alerts at two hotels in the Botanic area of Belfast and in a nearby supermarket.