SEVERAL BLASTS AT MUMBAI

Mumbai, July 13: Three blasts rocked Mumbai within minutes of each other, police said on Wednesday. According to TV reports, eight persons have died in the blasts and 70 have been injured.

Police sources said the nature and intensity of the blasts was not known. The ministry has confirmed it is a terror strike.

The Home Ministry has confirmed a terrorist attack and Mumbai is on high alert. All blasts took place during rush hour and in crowded places. Eyewitnesses said about 15 to 20 people have taken to hospital in Zaveri Bazar. Reports said six people had died in the Dadar blast, four in the Zaveri Bazaar blast.

One explosion, in a car at a bus stop in Dadar West, has been confirmed. A police officer said there might have been an explosive in a meter box behind a hoarding at Khau gali, a street filled with eateries at Zaveri Bazaar. An unexploded bomb has also reportedly been found in Dadar and a bomb disposal squad is working to defuse it. Early reports said a police control room had received a call claiming that there were serial blasts in Mumbai.

A National Investigation Agency (NIA) team has rushed to Mumbai from Delhi to investigate and collect forensic evidence. The police have appealed for calm. Zaveri Bazaar has been hit before over 50 people were killed in twin blasts in 2002. Malls, markets and other crowded places in Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore are on high alert. Reports say that the three blast happened simultaneously in Opera House, Zaveri Bazaar and Dadar station.

Here’s a real time update on the three blast that rocked Mumbai:

7:53 pm: Home Ministry puts NSG team on standby

7:52 pm: Teams of Maharashtra ATS rushed to the blast site

7:51 pm: Dadar blast took place in a meter box of an electric pole

7:50 pm: One explosion was in a car in Dadar

7:50 pm: Cellular networks jammed across Mumbai

7:47 pm: Home Ministry confirms blasts are an act of Terrorism

7:45 pm: Security alert in Delhi after Mumbai blasts

7:43 pm: Chhagan Bhujpal refuses to give confirmation on mumber of injured

7:40 pm: Home ministry confirms blasts in Mumbai

7:35 pm: Probing a tiffin box found near the blast site: ACP

7:32 pm: 7:30 pm – Early reports indicate casualties in Zaveri Bazaar blast.

7:30 pm: Fire under control in Zaveri Bazaar, says eye witness.

7:25 pm: Eyewitnesses report hearing explosion sound near Kabuthar Khaana in Dadar. It is located next to Dadar Station.

7:20 pm: Home Ministry refuses to confirm that they are bomb blasts

7:15 pm: Three blasts reported from different parts of Mumbai – Dadar, Prasad Chambers in Opera House and Zaveri Bazaar.

-PTI