Bomb Explodes Near Spanish Royal Family

A bomb exploded at a Pyrenees hotel today 500 yards from a vacationing King Juan Carlos and his family, authorities said. No injuries were reported and the Royal Family went skiing after the blast.

Officials said the explosion occurred at 6:50 a.m. in a hallway cupboard on the third floor of the Montarto Hotel in the winter resort village of Baqueira Beret after a caller warned in three telephone calls that a blast was imminent.

The caller claimed to speak for the Basque separatist group ETA, they said.

Hotel Evacuated

Police had cleared nearly all the guests and staff from the six-story hotel before the blast, but officials said the king, Queen Sofia and Crown Prince Felipe were only 500 yards away at a private ski lodge where they are spending their winter vacation.

The king’s two daughters were not with the family at the time, authorities said.

Four hours after the attack, Juan Carlos and Felipe joined skiers on the slopes at Baqueira Beret, a spokesman for the local tourist office said. Accompanying them was former King Constantine of Greece, brother of Queen Sofia.

5 1/2 Pounds of Explosive

Police said the bomb contained about 5 1/2 pounds of plastic explosives. It ripped a 1-foot hole in a hallway wall and damaged two guest rooms at the four-star hotel, causing an estimated $22,000 in damage.

Police set up roadblocks in the region but said they had no immediate trace of the attackers’ whereabouts.

It was the first time that ETA, a Basque-language acronym for Basque Homeland and Liberty, was known to have planned an attack so close to the Royal Family. ETA has killed more than 500 people in its 18-year guerrilla war to gain independence for the northern Basque region.