U.K. counterterrorism police arrest 3 after deadly Liverpool car blast
Explosion outside a hospital left one person dead and another injured on Sunday
Three people were arrested after a vehicle explosion outside the Women's Hospital in Liverpool left one person dead and another injured on Sunday, according to police.
Counterterrorism police, who said they are leading the investigation, said a male passenger in the car was declared dead at the scene. The driver, who was also a man, was injured and remains in hospital in a stable condition.
The police said the explosion had not been declared a terrorist incident at this stage.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his thoughts were with those people affected, and Interior Minister Priti Patel said in a tweet she is being kept regularly updated on the incident.
Three men — aged 29, 26, and 21 — were detained in the Kensington area of the city and arrested under the Terrorism Act, the police said in a statement.
Chief Const. Serena Kennedy said police were called to reports of a car explosion just before 11:00 GMT on Sunday, just as a Remembrance Day Service was commemorating war dead at the nearby Liverpool Cathedral.
Police said they understood that the car involved was a taxi that pulled up at the hospital shortly before the explosion occurred.
"Work is still ongoing to establish what has happened," she told media.
"We are keeping an open mind as to what caused the explosion but given how it has happened, out of caution, counterterrorism police are leading the investigation supported by Merseyside Police."