A HAND grenade exploded, killing two women, in a Chinese restaurant in Budapest yesterday, in the most serious incident so far in a spate of bombings and shootings which have hit the Hungarian capital in recent months.
The two women, who were identified as the owner's wife and daughter, were killed shortly after midnight when they entered the toilets of the Great Wall Restaurant, where a Yugoslavian made hand grenade had been planted, police said.
They were taken to a nearby military hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
Police said the restaurant owner, identified only as a Mr Cheng, was in shock, and they were seeking an interpreter to help question him.
The powerful explosion ripped the door to the toilets from its hinges. Blood and debris were smeared on the floor of the restaurant, near Heroes Square in a popular tourist area of the city.
Since last September, Budapest has been shaken by a dozen bombings and at least a half dozen shootings in an apparent gangland war. One known gangland figure was killed last year when he was shot dead at the wheel of his car.
Police said they could not say immediately who planted the hand grenade and they did not know if the two women were the intended victims.
Earlier they had said the device was in a sack left in the toilets, but they later said the circumstances were still under investigation.
"What we can say is that it was shortly after midnight, after the restaurant had closed, and there were no more guests in the restaurant," said police spokesman Mr Andre Nagy.
"Since it was after closing time, it means the attack was not aimed at the guests but against the owner or employees," he said. "It may have been a warning, put against whom we don't know.
Dozens of Chinese from Budapest's 2,000 member community gathered in the restaurant to console the owner, who did not emerge to talk to reporters.
One young Chinese man, who declined to give his name, said as, she entered the building: "I'm devastated. I have no idea why this, happened."
In a separate incident, police said a masked man threw Molotov cocktails through the window of a shoe store in a main commercial street on Thursday.
Store security personnel heard the glass being smashed and chased the man before he had time to set the two bombs alight, police said.