New York Times
WINDHOEK, South‐West Africa, Dec. 30, 1978 (AP) - A powerful bomb exploded today in a crowded bakery and delicatessen in the coastal resort town of Swakopmund, injuring at least 37 people, the police here reported.
Maj. Gen. Victor Verster, the police commissioner, said two of the injured were in serious condition. All but two of the injured were whites, he said.
Swakopmund, 170 miles west of Windhoek, the South‐West African capital, has drawn thousands of tourists from elsewhere in the territory and from neighboring South Africa for the Christmas‐New Year's holiday period.
News24
Bomb in Swakopmund
1978/1980 I was employed by the Rossing Uranium mine about 68km east of Swakopmund. It was a Saturday morning and my turn to work dayshift. The Saturday day shift was the worst shift of the week. The shift is from seven in the morning to about three in the afternoon. Mine busses convey the workers to the mine and back home again.
The shift was rather quiet without any major breakdowns and production was running according to the target. I remained in the workshop tea room with the coms. radio beside me while reading some or other text book.
The radio burst into life informing all listeners that a bomb had exploded in Swakopmund in a German Café: Putterson's Café. It stated several persons were severely injured and some of the injured were taken to the local hospital.
The previous evening my wife’s cousin and family had come to visit us. They were tired and decided to sleep over before making the 32km trip to Walvis Bay. It had become a tradition for the wife and I to visit the Café every Saturday when I was not working: The Café was usually packed with locals and visitors. The main attraction was the tea and the brotchens (rolls) with their unique German polony.
A few seconds after hearing the radio call I remembered that I had apologised to my wife because I could not accompany her to the Café that Saturday. She told me not to worry because she would take her cousin and his wife to the Café as they had not been there before.
They would use my vehicle for transport due to the cousins vehicle having no fuel in it and was parked close to the police station.
On realizing what had transpired |I went almost crazy on the mine. Other people were running around hysterical because the telephone lines were jammed. Some were leaving the job because they had private transport. Later, about midday, I received a message from the production foreman that my wife had phoned the mine to tell me all was ok. It felt like I was woken up from the dead.
The mine bus left earlier that day.
There was a tangible silence hanging over Swakopmund when I reached my home.
My wife told me her side of the story: They had indeed decided to visit the Café and first went to her cousin’s stranded car to see if all was ok. The cousin was one of those guys that had to inspect everything: The doors, windows, wheels, paintwork and contents of the boot. etc, etc. Due to the parking areas being crowded they walked the short distance to the Café.
They were walking on the wrong side of the road and decided to cross the road walking at a wide angle to the café. As they neared the Café a loud whoofing sound was heard followed by a massive bang sounding like a roll of thunder.
People were bodily blown over the street: A man came out of the destroyed building with wooden slivers stuck in his back. The percussion had brought the ceiling down causing additional injuries.
Had they walked further on the wrong side of the road and then crossed they would have walked into the teeth of the blast. A forensic investigation indicated the bomb was placed on the window sill inside the building. The aim was to get at the customers and passers-by.
After the blast and some order reigned they noticed that most of the cars had flat tyres on one side. Apparently caused by wooden splinters. A Merc sports model was a complete write-off.
Had they not stopped at the stranded car they would probably have walked into the blast or been inside the building.
I am not too certain but believe the bombers, about 4 were shot dead some days later.
Photos of Café Treffpunkt Swakopmund from old - until the 31/12/1978 when a bomb exploded with 32 injured, and after that before it officially closed.
Aerial photo/video service/inquiries: info@traveltonamibia.com
Sd T.
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