Canada blast: Sushma says all injured okay now

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday said most of those injured in a blast in an Indian restaurant in Canada have been discharged from hospital while three others who were in critical condition are stable now.

"The 12 persons who were taken to hospital have been discharged," Sushma Swaraj tweeted giving the latest update.

"The other three persons who were critically injured are stable," she said.

"According to police, at this stage there is no evidence to term this incident as a terrorist attack or hate crime," she added.

Earlier on Friday, Sushma Swaraj said that she was in constant touch with the Indian Consul General in Toronto and the Indian High Commissioner in Canada while assuring that the Indian missions will "work round the clock".

At least 15 people were injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off at the Bombay Bhel restaurant in Mississauga city in Canada's Ontario province on Thursday night, police said.

A search operation has been launched for two male suspects who detonated the device inside the restaurant and fled the scene after the blast, reports CBC Canada.

Regional police chief Jennifer Evans described one attacker as "light-skinned" in his mid-20s and the other as "fair-skinned" and said both had the hood of their jackets pulled over their heads, wore baseball caps and had dark cloth covering their faces.

The restaurant is located in the area of Hurontario Street and Eglinton Avenue East. The blast took place at around 10.30 p.m.

The nationalities of the victims have not been made public.

Mississauga has a South Asian population of about 175,000 or nearly 20 per cent of its population.

--IANS

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