GRAPHIC: 3 women killed after terrorists launch a terrorist attack in the Colombian city of Bogota

Three woman have been killed and 11 other people hurt in an explosion at an upscale Colombian shopping centre, the mayor has confirmed.



Witnesses told of being evacuated from movie theatres and stores after the blast in a second-floor women's bathroom at the upscale Centro Andino in the heart of Bogota's tourist district on Saturday afternoon.



Bogota mayor Enrique Penalosa called the blast a “cowardly terrorist attack”, and confirmed the deaths via Twitter. One of the women was a 23-year-old French national, he said.



Mr Penalosa said the French woman had spent six months volunteering in Colombia and was due to return to France.


He said another person was in a serious condition.



The other two victims, aged 27 and 31, were Colombian, local newspaper El Tiempo reported citing a statement from the Country Clinic hospital.



A video posted to social media shows security guards ushering people away from a doorway filled with smoke



President Juan Manuel Santos has condemned the attack and ordered National Police chief General Jorge Nieto to investigate.