CHERBOURG, May 8: Relatives and colleagues of the 11 French naval construction workers killed on Wednesday in a suicide car bombing, grieved for lost loved ones at a makeshift welcome centre in the northern port town of Cherbourg.

Marc Le Vaufre, Deputy Director of the Direction Des Constructions Navales (DCN), a defence ministry shipbuilder, told AFP the centre had received hundreds of calls from people seeking information about the tragedy.

“The families came by this morning. They were looking for comfort and above all, some answers,” he said.

His voice breaking with emotion, Alain Dupond told AFP he had lost two cousins in the attack.

“They say they went there voluntarily, but they were a bit forced to go,” mechanic Gilles Baillard said bitterly, as he mourned the loss of his colleagues and friends.

The DCN — which employs 3,650 people in Cherbourg — set up its makeshift welcome centre in the former maritime prefecture — a white, two-story building guarded by a young seaman.

Two teams of doctors, nurses and psychiatrists were on site to assist family members and friends of those killed — one civilian and one military.

“They were young friends who were out there. There are no words for what has happened,” said Roland Sourisse, a municipal official in nearby Tourlaville, home of three of the victims.

Three Pakistanis were also killed in the blast. Twelve French and 11 Pakistanis were injured. A DCN spokesman said four of the French wounded were in critical condition.—AFP