July 11, 200620 yr BBC NEWS Scores dead in 7 train explosions in Mumbai, India Scores of people have been killed in at least seven near-simultaneous bombs on trains in the Indian financial capital, Mumbai (Bombay), police say. The city's police Chief AN Roy said on Indian TV as many as 100 people were feared killed and more than 250 hurt. The first explosion went off at about 1830 local time (1300 GMT), during the peak of the evening rush hour in the suburbs on the busy Western Railway. There have been a number of bomb attacks in Mumbai in recent years. The city and the capital Delhi have been put on high alert, and Mumbai's entire rail network has been shut down. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appealed for calm and described the incidents as a "shocking and cowardly attempt to spread a feeling of hatred". Pakistani leaders also condemned the blasts as a "despicable act of terrorism". Bodies by tracks Police said the blasts took place at Borivili, Khar, Jogeshwari, Matunga and Mira Road areas, with most on moving trains. Reports described people jumping from trains and bodies lying by the tracks. Television images show dazed and blood-splattered commuters being carried by fellow passengers to waiting ambulances, as rescue workers clambered through wreckage to reach victims. The force of the blasts ripped doors and windows off carriages and scattered luggage and debris. Clothes, shoes and personal possessions were strewn along the tracks. A medical student at a hospital in Parel, which has received many of the wounded, told the BBC News website the "floors are filled with bloodstains". "There were so many [injured people], I couldn't really count," Sunny Jain said. "There are not enough ambulances and many people are making their own way to the station. They are coming in taxis and by foot." The city's suburban train system is one of the busiest in the world, carrying more than six million commuters a day. Authorities have said they were aware of possible attacks on the train network, yet nobody else was informed SKY NEWS Carnage After Train Bombs Updated: 16:46, Tuesday July 11, 2006 Seven explosions have killed more than 135 people in Mumbai's commuter rail network during rush hour, police claimed. The death toll was spiralling since bomb blasts ripped through packed train compartments. Witnesses reported seeing body parts strewn about stations, while Indian television broadcast footage of wounded sprawled on tracks. Authorities, struggling in the subsequent chaos, said more than 300 were wounded. Officials confirmed the blasts were caused by bombs. The Indian home minister admitted authorities had information the attack was coming but did not know the time or place. One of the many injured Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz "strongly condemned this terrorist attack and have expressed condolences over the loss of innocent lives", reports said. The Bombay police chief said 20 bodies had been taken to hospitals and that the death toll could go higher. He said: "Our first priority is to rescue the injured people." However, heavy monsoon downpours were hampering the effort. Pranay Prabhakar, the spokesman for the Western Railway, said all trains have been suspended and appealed to the public to stay away from the city's train stations. A carriage ripped open The force of the blasts ripped doors and windows off carriages, and luggage and debris were strewn about. The Press Trust of India, citing railway officials, said all the explosions had hit first-class cars. The blasts appeared to have come in quick succession - a common tactic employed by Kashmiri militants that have repeatedly targeted India's cities. Police are reportedly carrying out nationwide raids in response. All the country's major cities have been put on high alert. Hours before, a series of grenade attacks by Islamic extremists killed eight people in the main city of India's part of Kashmir. Bombay, India's financial centre, has one of the most crowded commuter rail networks in the world. Officials have said they were aware of the threat of train bomb attacks Horrible news.
July 11, 200620 yr This is so awful. :( I swear this world we live in is getting more and more fucked up by the day. :\ It scares me.
July 11, 200620 yr God. My dad told me this awful news just as I was reading some beautiful posts about the work of the U2 charity campaigns, over in the Coldplaying Charity Club board...exemplifying the best of human nature and the truest human kindness. A most striking juxtaposition. I don't understand how some people can cause so much harm. I have family in Mumbai, and I'm worried about them.:( Fucked up.
July 12, 200620 yr Wow this is so wierd. It's at least the 3rd major terrorist attack to happen on the 11th... 9.11, 3.11 Spain bombings and now this on 7.11. Coincidence? :\ India...it doesn't look like anywhere in the world is safe anymore. What's next? :(
July 12, 200620 yr bad news, but another one that could have been prevented one feelsAuthorities have said they were aware of possible attacks on the train network, yet nobody else was informed
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