The original headline contained multiple errors and has been changed. See the bottom of the article for additional information.
UCLA officials are trying to get in touch with seven people connected to UCLA who they know are either in Boston or en route to the city, after two explosions went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday afternoon.
Two UCLA students in the Boston area who may not be included in the seven-person count from the UCLA Office of Insurance and Risk Management are safe and uninjured, the students said in separate phone interviews with the Daily Bruin.
Second-year communication studies student Alex Wood completed the marathon about an hour before the explosions. Fourth-year business economics student Kaytlin Louton was a spectator near Boston College, which is at mile 21 of the marathon.
It is unknown whether there are more people connected to UCLA who were in Boston on Monday.
A third UCLA student, Thomas Curran, was also registered to run in the race. Friends of Curran’s have confirmed to the Bruin via text message and phone that he is safe, but the Bruin has not spoken directly with Curran.
Three people were killed in the explosions, and more than 100 were injured, according to the Boston Police Department.
The UCLA Office of Insurance and Risk Management encourages faculty and students traveling for a UCLA-related purpose to register their travel plans online through a program that allows the university to get in touch with them and provide assistance and updates in case of situations like this one, said the office’s director, Dean Malilay.
The seven people who registered for the program are the ones the risk management office is trying to get in touch with, Malilay said.
As of 4 p.m., Malilay could not say who the seven people are or whether they are safe, but the risk management office is currently contacting them.
The university will ask the seven people whether they are safe or need assistance. University representatives will also ask the seven people to update their personal information and email address so the program can send them updates.
Registration for the program is voluntary, so it is possible that other people affiliated with UCLA could also be in Boston.
University police are on heightened alert, but have not increased their on campus presence following the explosions, said UCPD spokeswoman Nancy Greenstein.
The FBI is involved in the investigation and there was no suspect as of 5:50 p.m., according to the Boston police department.
There were initial reports of a possible third explosion at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston, but officials later said the incident was “an incendiary device or a fire” and may not be related to the Boston Marathon explosions.
Compiled by Daily Bruin staff.
Correction: At least seven people connected to UCLA were either in Boston or en route to the city during the explosions.