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On Saturday June 15 1996, the Provisional Irish Republican Army exploded a 3300lb bomb in central Manchester. Due to a speedy evacuation, nobody was killed by the explosion, but 206 people were injured, and there was extensive property damage.
The bomb was contained in a Ford van, which was parked in Corporation Street, between the Arndale Centre and the city's Marks_&_Spencer store, right in the heart of the city's shopping area.
The van was parked at about 9:20am, and the bomb exploded just under 2 hours later. Most windows in nearby buildings were blown out, and falling glass caused the majority of the injuries. The blast was audible over 8 miles away.
Several buildings close to the epicenter had to be demolished, and many more were closed for months afterwards to allow structural repairs. Overall, 70,000 square metres of retail and office space had to be reconstructed. While the bulk of the rebuilding work was complete by 2000, further redevelopment of affected buildings (notably the northern corner of the Arndale Centre) is still underway at the end of 2004.
Some have claimed the event turned out to be positive for the city, as many of the buildings demolished or extensively rebuilt were regarded as eyesores, and the resulting redevelopment of the surrounding area has generated millions of pounds of investment.
A post box that survived the blast, despite being only yards from the centre of the explosion, now carries a small brass plaque recording the bombing.
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