The bomb explosion in Myyrmanni, Finland 2002

Abstract

On the evening of 11 October 2002, a 19-year-old student detonated a home-made bomb inside the Myyrmanni shopping mall, located in the city of Vanda (Vantaa) just north of Helsinki, Finland. The device was an anti-personnel type of bomb (equal to 2-3 kg of trotyl with a covering of steel and copper pellets) made from easily available materials and from instructions available over the Internet. It was hidden in a backpack and detonated in the middle of a crowd of people who were watching a clown's performance. Five people were killed instantly, two died later, and more than 160 persons were injured.The management of the incident caused a major strain on the Emergency Medical Services as well as the hospitals within Helsinki. This report discusses weaknesses in the command and control system (mainly from communication failures) ways to improve a coordinated response in the future.