Car bomb kills driver in Finland

The blast blew the car apart

HELSINKI, Finland -- A man has been killed and another injured after a car bomb exploded outside a hotel in central Helsinki.

The blast at about 6.50 a.m. (0350 GMT) on Tuesday was in front of the 150-room Hotel Helka and shattered windows on three floors, although none of the guests was injured, a hotel spokesman said.

The victims were in cars outside the hotel, Detective Chief Insp. Olli Toyras told the Associated Press.

Police spokeswoman Paivi Kaasnen told CNN that the bomb was in the vehicle being driven by the dead man, believed to be a Finnish citizen.

Police do not suspect terrorism or political links. "We are treating this as an isolated incident," said Toyras.

"It was terrible," hotel guest Marie-Louise Stuenkel, from Hanover, Germany, told AP. "We heard the explosion and a few seconds later the alarm went off."

The hotel's marketing manager Henry Lahtonen told CNN: "Our main concern was for the guests -- we had about 100 at the time. Thankfully, no one was injured.

"We have got some broken windows but we were very lucky because it was such a big explosion."

The hotel was evacuated but guests were later allowed to return.