Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Reuters NewMedia, Inc. - Tuesday November 25, 8:27 pm Eastern Time
Robert Melnbardis

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blasts, which caused no injuries and only minor damage.

Two packages exploded mid-morning at a BioChem Pharma plant in the north-end Montreal municipality of Ahuntsic, a police spokesman said. About 45 employees were evacuated from the plant shortly after the first explosion.

Police in Laval, a suburb just north of Montreal, said about 200 BioChem employees were evacuated from the company's headquarters there before two packages exploded outside the building.

Using a remote-controlled robotic unit, police destroyed two other suspicious packages found outside the Laval headquarters.

Laval police Sgt. Andre St. Jacques told Reuters that BioChem Pharma received an anonymous telephone call at its headquarters just before 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT) warning of a bomb. The company promptly called Laval police, who ordered the building evacuated.

Montreal police spokesman Christian Emond said there were no warning telephone calls before the bombs exploded outside the Montreal plant.

"The BioChem facility was evacuated after the explosion," he said.

In a precautionary measure, a BioChem Pharma research facility in the provincial capital of Quebec City 165 miles (265-km) northeast of Montreal also was evacuated.

BioChem Pharma said in a statement on Tuesday it did not know why the company was the target of the attacks. Witnesses at the site of the first bombing saw some damage to an aluminum garage door but no serious damage.

"Fortunately, the incidents have occurred outside our installations and we hope to resume our operations tomorrow," the company said.

Montreal and Laval police, aided by bomb experts from the provincial police force Surete du Quebec were gathering evidence to determine the type of explosive used.

Police said they had no suspects or possible motive for the bombings.

BioChem Pharma, a pharmaceutical firm in which London-based Glaxo Wellcome Plc (GLXO.L) has a minority interest, is credited with discovering the drug 3TC or Epivir, used in the treatment of HIV infection and AIDS in combination with other drugs.

Trading in shares of BioChem Pharma were halted on Canadian exchanges and Nasdaq after the explosions. On the Montreal Stock Exchange, BioChem Pharma shares were off C$1.75 before the trading halt to C$35 on a volume of 128,000 shares. When they resumed trading, BioChem Pharma shares were off C85 cents to C$35.90.

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