New Delhi, India – A car explosion in the bustling heart of the Indian capital on Monday killed at least eight people and injured another 19, officials said.
The blast took place in the early evening as people returned from work, close to a metro station in the crowded Old Delhi quarter of the city.
Ambulances streamed into a nearby public hospital, carrying several injured people, AFP reporters said.
Citing authorities at the hospital, New Delhi’s deputy chief fire officer AK Malik told AFP that “eight people have died so far and 19 are injured.”
The capital’s Police Commissioner Satish Golcha told reporters that “a slow-moving vehicle stopped at a red light — an explosion happened in that vehicle, and due to the explosion, nearby vehicles were also damaged.”
The blaze engulfed at least six cars as well as several motorised rickshaw taxis.
The nearby hospital building was cordoned off amid a heavy police deployment as officers moved through the corridors.
Outside, anxious relatives gathered after hearing that their loved ones had been brought in.
Musarrat Ansari said her brother was injured after a burning car hit the motorbike he was riding.
“He called me and said his leg was hurt — he couldn’t walk,” she told AFP.
The Red Fort, which was completed under Moghul rule in 1648 and is located in the old quarters of Delhi, is one of India’s most well-known landmarks.
Indian prime ministers address the nation from its ramparts on Independence Day, and it features on the largest banknote.
