Three Bombs Kill At Least 21 in Mumbai, India
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MUMBAI, India — At least 21 people were killed and 130 wounded Wednesday after three explosions hit India's business capital of Mumbai during evening rush hour, senior Indian officials said.
Prithviraj Chavan, chief minister of Maharashtra state, told Indian TV station NDTV that the blasts occurred between 6:50 p.m. and 7:04 p.m. local time (9:20 to 9:34 a.m. ET).
Blood-covered bodies lay on Mumbai streets and people hugged and wept. Others carried the wounded to taxis. Crowds gathered in the blast areas as police questioned witnesses, and bomb squads inspected the undercarriages of vehicles searching for clues and other explosives.
Motorcycles were charred, shopfronts shattered and a bus stop ripped apart.
..It was the first terrorist attack on the city since 10 militants laid siege to Mumbai for 60 hours in November 2008, killing 166 people and escalating tensions with Pakistan.
"I have appealed to the people of Mumbai to maintain peace and calm," Chavan told NDTV. "We will face this calamity and challenge to our sovereignty ... we will fully meet this challenge."
He called the explosions "an attack on the heart of India"
NDTV also reported that Indian officials had confirmed terrorists were behind the attacks.
The first blast struck the Jhaveri Bazaar at 6:54 p.m., tearing through the famed jewelry market. A minute later, a second blast hit the busy business district of Opera House, several miles away in southern Mumbai. At 7:05 p.m., the third bomb exploded in the crowded neighborhood of Dadar in central Mumbai, according to police.
The Zaveri Bazaar blast took place in an umbrella kept at the crowded Kahu Gali, a street of eateries where many commuters stop to snack before catching their local trains home, NDTV reported. The Dadar West explosion took place in a meter box on an electric pole near a bus stop, it said. The Opera House blast, the most powerful of the three, took place at Prasad Chamber building.
A bomb that failed to go off was found in Dadar, NDTV reported, and a bomb disposal squad was working to defuse it.
Because of the close timing of the bomb blasts, "we infer that this was a coordinated attack by terrorists," Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said, adding that Mumbai was put on high alert.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the blasts and also appealed to the people of Mumbai "to remain calm and show a united face."
In Washington, President Barack Obama also condemned the "outrageous attacks"
"The American people will stand with the Indian people in times of trial, and we will offer support to India's efforts to bring the perpetrators of these terrible crimes to justice," he said in a statement. "I have no doubt that the India will overcome these deplorable terrorist attacks."
The U.S. State Department said it would offer India assistance in its response and investigation of the Wednesday attack, just as it did in 2008.
The State Department said the blast would not change Secretary Hillary Clinton's already scheduled visit to New Delhi July 18-20, NBC News reported.
"I believe it is more important than ever that we stand with India, deepen our partnership and reaffirm our commitment to the shared struggle against terrorism," Clinton said in a news conference (on this page) with the Russian foreign minister.
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Prithviraj Chavan, chief minister of Maharashtra state, told Indian TV station NDTV that the blasts occurred between 6:50 p.m. and 7:04 p.m. local time (9:20 to 9:34 a.m. ET).
Blood-covered bodies lay on Mumbai streets and people hugged and wept. Others carried the wounded to taxis. Crowds gathered in the blast areas as police questioned witnesses, and bomb squads inspected the undercarriages of vehicles searching for clues and other explosives.
Motorcycles were charred, shopfronts shattered and a bus stop ripped apart.
..It was the first terrorist attack on the city since 10 militants laid siege to Mumbai for 60 hours in November 2008, killing 166 people and escalating tensions with Pakistan.
"I have appealed to the people of Mumbai to maintain peace and calm," Chavan told NDTV. "We will face this calamity and challenge to our sovereignty ... we will fully meet this challenge."
He called the explosions "an attack on the heart of India"
NDTV also reported that Indian officials had confirmed terrorists were behind the attacks.
The first blast struck the Jhaveri Bazaar at 6:54 p.m., tearing through the famed jewelry market. A minute later, a second blast hit the busy business district of Opera House, several miles away in southern Mumbai. At 7:05 p.m., the third bomb exploded in the crowded neighborhood of Dadar in central Mumbai, according to police.
The Zaveri Bazaar blast took place in an umbrella kept at the crowded Kahu Gali, a street of eateries where many commuters stop to snack before catching their local trains home, NDTV reported. The Dadar West explosion took place in a meter box on an electric pole near a bus stop, it said. The Opera House blast, the most powerful of the three, took place at Prasad Chamber building.
A bomb that failed to go off was found in Dadar, NDTV reported, and a bomb disposal squad was working to defuse it.
Because of the close timing of the bomb blasts, "we infer that this was a coordinated attack by terrorists," Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said, adding that Mumbai was put on high alert.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the blasts and also appealed to the people of Mumbai "to remain calm and show a united face."
In Washington, President Barack Obama also condemned the "outrageous attacks"
"The American people will stand with the Indian people in times of trial, and we will offer support to India's efforts to bring the perpetrators of these terrible crimes to justice," he said in a statement. "I have no doubt that the India will overcome these deplorable terrorist attacks."
The U.S. State Department said it would offer India assistance in its response and investigation of the Wednesday attack, just as it did in 2008.
The State Department said the blast would not change Secretary Hillary Clinton's already scheduled visit to New Delhi July 18-20, NBC News reported.
"I believe it is more important than ever that we stand with India, deepen our partnership and reaffirm our commitment to the shared struggle against terrorism," Clinton said in a news conference (on this page) with the Russian foreign minister.
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