3 Yukon runners O.K. after Boston Marathon explosions

Three Yukoners who ran the Boston Marathon today are reported to be O.K. after two explosions went off near the finish line.

Authorities have confirmed that two people died in the blasts, andmany more have been injured.

The Associated Press reports that a senior U.S. intelligence official has indicated that explosive devices were found near the finish line.

Conservative MP Ryan Leef, as well as Whitehorse residents Kelly Proudfoot and Keith Thaxter all finished before the explosions.

Leef's Whitehorse office confirmed that he is O.K. and heading back to his office in Ottawa.

Leef finished about an hour before the explosions. He said he's shocked at the news.

"I was at the far end of the finishing chute when I heard the emergency personell response starting to race towards the scene and your mind obviously doesn't turn to that kind of tragedy at first, but in retrospect you could see where they were coming from, the volume and intensity that they were racing to the finish line that something serious had gone on," he said.

Gordie Tentrees, Proudfoot's boyfriend,posted a photo of Proudfoot after she crossed the finish line, and wrote on Twitter that he and Proudfoot are alive.

"Kelly crossed finish line ahead of bomb that I watched go off happy to be alive in Boston!"

He added they are sad, but relieved and safe.

Leef finished the race in three hours, 11 minutes and 38 seconds. Thaxter finished in three hours, 14 minutes and 51 seconds, while Proudfoot finished in three hours, 54 minutes and 26 secondsreportedly less than 20 minutes before the blasts.

Scene described as 'pandemonium'

CBC News reached Tentrees and Proudfoot by phone. He and Proudfoot had holed up in a pizza restaurant a few blocks away from the blast.

"Every place is packed. Everybodys gone inside and trying to get off the street because theres 27,000 runners, and their family and friends there to pick them up, so an awful lot of people in one area trying to get away from the area," he said.

Tentrees said they initially thought the two loud noises were firecrackers for Patriot's Day, which was Monday in the U.S.

"It just didn't sound rightIturned around and right behind me, about a block and a half from me, the blast went off, there was smoke to both sides of the building as high as you can see, right to the middle of the road," he said.

Tentrees said a lot of the runners didn't know what was going on.

"They werestanding around getting food into them pretty quick, and then there's people who are running from the actual blast, running by them, talking into their cell phones and then theres some people trying to clear people and get emergency people to the scene. So theres just pandemonium."

Proudfoot said it has been sad and bizarre to hear and see what happened just minutes after she finished the race.

"It was pretty hard to watch on the TV and see the same finish line we just crossed and see what happened just after we crossed it." she said.