Delhi blast: Deadly car explosion near Red Fort claims at least 8 lives, injures 24, PM Modi takes stock — All we know

Delhi blast: At least eight people have been killed and 24 others injured after a car exploded near Gate 1 of the Red Fort Metro station in old Delhi in the evening on November 10, according to muliple reports by PTI, ANI and AP.

Speaking to AP, Sanjay Tyagi, a spokesman for the city’s police force confirmed that at least 8 people were killed, and several others injured. “We are investigating the cause of the blast,” he said.

The injured were taken to the LNJP hospital a few kilometres away.

“Six cars, two erickshaws and one autorickshaw were gutted in the fire,” said a fire department official.

Delhi Red Fort blast: Top updates — All we know so far

PM Modi, Amit Shah take stock of situation

PTI cited government sources saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken stock of situation after the deadly explosion in the national capital. They added that he spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah about the incident.

Sources further told PTI that Delhi Police chief Satish Golcha briefed Amit Shah about the situation, and the home minister has directed chiefs of the National Investigative Agency (NIA), the National Security Guard (NSG), and forensic sciences to rush teams to assist in the investigation and collect evidence.

Sources also said that Amit Shah has spoken to the Delhi police chief, director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB).

Eyewitnesses recall panic, horror, devastation amid blast

The high intensity blast was so powerful that the sound was heard at the ITO a few kilometres away, and windows of vehicles parked several metres away shattered, PTI reported.

Eyewitnesses recalled panic at the scene amid the loud explosion, flames and devastation. An eyewitness and local resident Rajdhar Pandey told ANI, “I saw the flames from my house and then came down to see what had happened. There was a loud explosion. I live nearby.”

An injured eyewitness, who suffered a wound on his forehead, told PTI the explosion appeared to have originated from a car, probably a Swift. “There was a Swift car in front of my auto. There was something in that car that suddenly blasted,” he said.

Another witness said, “I was at the gurdwara when I heard a strong sound. We couldn’t make out what it was, it was that loud. A number of vehicles nearby were completely damaged,” he added.

Sanjay Bhargaw, president of the Chandni Chowk Traders Association, whose shop is about 800 metres away from the incident site, told PTI the entire building shook due to the blast. There was chaos in the market as people started running, he shared.

(With inputs from Agencies)