Explosion Hits Dortmund Team Bus on Way to Champions League Match

An explosion occurred near the Dortmund team bus that damaged the wheels on its way to its home Champions League quarterfinal first leg match against Monaco, according to local police and a club statement.

Bombenexplosion am Mannschaftsbus am Mannschaftshotel. Spieler in Sicherheit. Keine Gefahr im und am Stadion. Weitere Infos folgen. #bvbasm
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) April 11, 2017

The details are so far vague, but here's the police statement, as translated by Google:

"In the run-up to the Champions League match of the BVB against the AS Monaco, there was an explosion shortly after 7 pm near the BVB team bus.

The event location is Wittbräuckerstraße / Schirrmannweg in Dortmund-Höchsten.

According to current knowledge the disks of the bus (whole or partial) were broken and one person was injured.

It is not yet possible to say exactly what the explosion was or exactly where something exploded."

The cause of the explosion is unknown. Reports from the stadium indicate that fans had been instructed to remain inside temporarily, but according to the team's twitter account, the match has now been postponed and rescheduled for the same time Wednesday evening.

Das Spiel #bvbasm wurde soeben abgesagt. Neuansetzung: Mittwoch, 12.04. 18.45 Uhr. Tickets behalten Gültigkeit. #bvbasm
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) April 11, 2017

We will update this post as more details come in.

Update 2:45 p.m.: Dortmund have confirmed that Marc Bartra was injured during the incident and is being treated in a hospital.

Bei der Explosion wurde @MarcBartra verletzt und befindet sich derzeit im Krankenhaus. Gute und schnelle Genesung, Marc! #bvbasm
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) April 11, 2017

Update 4:15 p.m.: A police spokesperson said they do not have information regarding the nature of the explosions, or what could have motivated it, but they did confirm there were three separate explosions near the bus. According to the Associated Press, Dortmund police "are working on the assumption" that they were caused by "serious explosive devices." In published reports, Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said they were hidden behind a hedge on a road that the bus had just turned onto after leaving the hotel.

"Bartra was injured, on his hand and his arm, but nothing that would be life-threatening," Watzke said. "The team is obviously in complete shock. Our task is to process this experience, because the match is taking place in less than 24 hours. That's our job."

Update 5:45 p.m.: Information continues to trickle in, but police still are not sure of the source. However, a letter was found nearby that "takes responsibility for the act."

BREAKING: A German prosecutor says a letter was found near a soccer team bus where explosives went off; details withheld.
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 11, 2017

BREAKING: A German prosecutor says the letter found near the Dortmund soccer team bus "takes responsibility for the act."
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 11, 2017