Third Explosion in Beijing in 2 Months Reportedly Kills 1

BEIJING — An explosion Tuesday rocked a park in the heart of Beijing just a few hundred yards from the central government compound, authorities said.

Police confirmed that the blast occurred in Zhongshan Park, outside the Forbidden City and across the street from the Zhongnanhai compound where China’s top leaders have their offices.

Authorities declined to release further details, but the government-run Beijing Daily reported today that the blast was caused by a migrant worker from Hunan province, who set off a small bomb in an apparent suicide. A note was found with the victim, the newspaper said.

The blast occurred at about 5 p.m. Tuesday toward the rear of the park. Police cordoned off the area, which is popular with tourists.

It was the third explosion in two months to hit the Chinese capital, which has become increasingly jittery because of the attacks. On March 5, a small bomb blew up outside a commercial building in the city’s eastern Chaoyang district. Two days later, another explosive device ripped through a public bus in the Xidan shopping area on the city’s west side, killing two people and injuring 30, although officials refuse to confirm the two deaths.

The attackers have not been identified in either of the two previous bombings.

In Guangdong province in the south, meanwhile, police said five people were killed and six wounded in an explosion on a bus.

Officials said the blast occurred Monday in the rear of a local bus in the town of Shunde, about 75 miles northwest of Hong Kong, Associated Press reported.

The explosion was set off by a young man and a young woman, both of whom were killed in the blast, local officials said.