Explosion turns peaceful suburb into Spain's latest disaster zone

LEGANES - A quiet, working-class suburb became the latest disaster zone around the traumatised Spanish capital, Madrid.

The blast tore to shreds several floors of a building in the multiracial neighbourhood of Leganes, burying parked cars in debris and scattering rubble all over the street.

Police had evacuated residents of the building and of two others before the blasts. Some wept as they looked from outside a tight police cordon at what remained of their homes.

"I had to leave the house like this, in my pyjamas. Of course I was very scared. I have two children," said Felix Milongo, an African immigrant.

The drama came against a backdrop of mourning and anxiety in Spain.

Just as people had been regaining a sense of normality, three weeks after the March 11 bombings, police at the weekend defused a bomb that had been placed on a high-speed train line from Madrid to Seville.

In Leganes, neighbours exchanged stories about what had happened.

"I was playing in the courtyard with my friends when suddenly I heard shouting ... The terrorists started shouting things in their language and shooting," said Sandra, a 14-year-old girl.

"I'm still really nervous. Look at what's happened to the building!"

Bits of beds, cables and sheets were hanging down from the back of the ravaged building.

Firefighters shone powerful searchlights at the building as they sifted through the rubble.

Evacuated residents worried about the impact the events might have on relations in Leganes.

"The worst is still to come," said one man. "There are people from many ethnic groups in this neighbourhood and some people are going to get the blame even though it's not their fault."

- REUTERS