Car Bomb Blast in Colombia

"There are some 20 wounded and serious material damage. The entire area has been cordoned off and the victims are being cared for," he said.

Oliveros blamed the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which has a strong presence in San Martin and other parts of Meta Department.

"Obviously, this attack was committed by the FARC, the only terrorists who attack the civilian population in the country," he said.

He announced a 20-million-peso (7,000-dollar,6,200-euro) award for information leading to capture of the culprits.

Earlier a Meta police spokesman told AFP that the attacker had planned to slam the van into the gas station, but the explosion happened first.

The driver was seen jumping from the van just prior to the blast at around 8 pm (0100 GMT), the spokesman said.

"We are searching for this person, some of whose belongings were found in the area," he said.

The explosion was the third car bomb attack in the troubled South American nation in as many days.