Blast in Dilsuknagar, Hyderabad

Serial blasts rocked a busy commercial hub of Hyderabad this evening killing nearly 15 people and injuring over a score others.

Around 1915 hrs, the first blast occurred near a cinema theatre in Dilsukhnagar area on the busy Vijayawada highway. Thereafter, a couple of other explosions in quick succession in the vicinity sent shock waves and panic.

At least 15 people are feared killed and over 60 injured, some of them critically, in three serial explosions near a busy bus stop and two cinema theatres at Dilsukh Nagar in Hyderabad on Thursday evening.

Union Home minister Sushilkumar Shinde has confirmed that 11 people have been killed in the Hyderabad blasts.

Local reports said the five blasts all happened at Dilsukh Nagar area, which is a crowded locality in Hyderabad. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) though pegged the number to have rocked Andhra Pradesh's capital at three, while Hyderabad police said at least two blasts have taken place.

Police have confirmed that these blasts that ripped through the crowded area in Hyderabad are an act of terror attack.

However, there is no clarity yet on who engineered these well-coordinated and pre-planned explosions.

Authorities have also expressed the fear that the death toll is likely to increase.

The injured, meanwhile, have been rushed to Yashoda Hospital at Malakpet and to the government-run Osmania Hospital, and police have cordoned off the entire area.

Initially, gas cylinder blasts were suspected, but the series of explosions, point to extraneous elements, said police. Fire tenders and ambulances were rushed to the spot, even as the police tried to cordon of the area and halt traffic flows towards the busy area.

The injured have been rushed to the nearly Yashoda Hospital and the Government run Osmnia Hospital.

Dilsuknagar is one of the densely populated areas and the place where the explosions occurred is a beehive of commercial, education and eateries. The area adjourns the old city of Hyderabad. Nearly a decade ago a blast had occurred in the neighbourhood.

Hyderabad has seen a blast after 5-6 years. The blasts in Gokul chat and Lumbini Park in 2007 had taken a heavy toll.

The Chief Minister expressed condolences and asked the administration to take quick steps.