Three serial blasts rocked India's financial hub Mumbai at around 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, killing at least 21 people and injuring 113 others, said the local government which believed it is a terror attack that reminded of the 2008 terror attack killing 166.
Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik said three blasts happened between 6:54 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. all in congested area, the first at Zaveri Bazaar in South Mumbai, the second at Opera House again in South Mumbai a minute later which are more intense and the third at a bus stop in Dadar West, central Mumbai near the railway station.
Photo taken on July 13, 2011 shows the blast site
outside Opera House in Mumbai,
India. 21
people were killed and 113 others injured in three blasts which rocked downtown
Mumbai within minutes of each other Wednesday evening, the Press Trust of India
(PTI) quoted Minister of Home Affairs as reporting. (Xinhua/Stringer)
One witness Jaylesh Labdhi who was working in a diamond shop near Opera House told Xinhua that he heard a huge sound in the air at first and saw smoke rising and thought it might be a fire accident, but later he found dead bodies around and realized it is a blast.
The beach near the Opera House area where tourists used to gather now nearly abandoned. Police are putting more checks on major roads in Mumbai and heavy rain in parts of the city caused traffic jam across the city of Mumbai.
Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan of the Indian state of Maharashtra with Mumbai as its capital confirmed that at least 21 people died and 113 injured and all are rushed to the nearby hospitals, but the death toll may rise.
Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram who are heading to Mumbai said earlier that Improvised Explosive Devices were used in all three blasts occurred within minute of each other, indicating this was a coordinated attack by terrorists.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh strongly condemned the serial blasts and urged the people of the city to remain calm and united.
India's capital New Delhi and other big cities are also put on high alert and more police are sent to search and check malls, railways and other public areas.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack so far while the Indian Mujahedeen are currently the prime suspect of the Police.
Residents of Mumbai told local news channel that they were angry on the repeated attack on the city.
Zaveri Bazar has been on the radar of terrorists since 1993 when 13 serial blasts rocked the country's financial capital killing 257 people. In 2003 terrorists' blasts at the Bazar claimed 54 lives.
U.S. President Barack Obama Wednesday "strongly condemned the outrageous attack in Mumbai" and offered help in investigation. Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani also condemned the blasts.
Xinhua
