By IANS
Hyderabad : At least 24 people were killed and 22 injured as two bomb blasts targeted weekenders at an amusement park and a popular eatery in Hyderabad Saturday evening.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the bombing and appealed to people to remain calm.
The death toll may rise as doctors described the conditions of many of the injured as critical.
The first blast occurred at around 7.45 p.m. at the Andhra Pradesh government-run Lumbini Amusement Park near the state secretariat, while the other took place about 15 minutes later at Gokul Chat, a popular eatery in Koti, a commercial area. The spots are five kilometres apart.
Both places in the heart of Hyderabad were thronged by hundreds of people including women and children, out to enjoy the weekend evening.
Saturday’s blasts occurred just over three months after nine people were killed in a blast at the historic Mecca Masjid in the old city area on May 18.
About two hours after Saturday’s blasts, Andhra Pradesh Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy confirmed that “24 people had been killed and 22 injured”, while he appealed to people to “remain calm”.
Earlier, state Energy Minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir had confirmed that six people were killed in Lumbini Park, abutting the Hussain Sagar Lake in the heart of the city. The bomb there went off as hundreds of people including many children were enjoying a laser show.
Shabbir said 16 people were feared killed in Gokul Chat, which is thronged by huge crowds every evening. The number of casualties at the eatery was yet to be confirmed by the police.
Three bodies were lying amid chairs at the Lumbini Park 30 minutes after the blast. There were bloodstains all over the area. Three other people succumbed to injuries at the hospital.
Dozens of ambulances were seen rushing to the areas to shift the injured to hospitals.
Senior police officials rushed to both sites and cordoned them off. A senior police official said the blasts were meticulously planned. Forensic officials with sniffer dogs arrived at the blast spots within an hour, after which police officials said that RDX explosive had been used at least in the Lumbini Park blast.
Rajasekhara Reddy held a high-level meeting at the secretariat to review the situation. He also visited Lumbini Park.
A red alert was sounded in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad – known for IT and BPO units. Security checks were being carried out at railway and bus stations.
Before Saturday’s blast, there was no security check at Lumbini Park, where anybody could walk in after buying a ticket.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the incident and advised people to remain calm and not to panic.
The union home ministry was also in touch with the state administration with Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta speaking with state officials over the investigations into the incident.
Intelligence officials in New Delhi and Hyderabad were also probing if the bombings had any links with the first major terror attack the southern city had witnessed on May 18.
Nine people were killed in a bomb blast during Friday prayers at the historic Mecca Masjid in the Muslim-majority old city area.
The blasts triggered off a security alert in the national capital Delhi as well.