Kerala blast: The blast took place in the centre of the hall, said a witness.
Kochi:
At least three blasts occurred at a convention centre of a Christian group in Kerala’s Kochi today, killing one and injuring several others. “The blast took place in the centre of the hall. I heard three explosions,” said a witness who was at the back of the hall during the convention of the Jehovah’s Witnesses — a Christian religious group that originated in the United States of America in the 19th century.
“There was a lot of smoke. I heard a woman has died,” he said.
Visuals from the convention centre showed a fire and people trying to rush out of the hall.
Teams of the anti-terror force National Security Guard (NSG) and anti-terror probe agency National Investigation Agency (NIA) have been sent to Kerala following a directive of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to assist the state government.
Mr Shah spoke to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and took stock of the situation following the blasts.
“It was an accident. We all rushed out. That’s all that we know. And we all rushed out. Got everybody to safety. That’s all we can say is this now. We’re going to meet the officers so we’ll know what the situation is,” a member of the group told ANI.
Improvised Explosive Device was used in the attack, said Kerala Police, adding a special investigation team will be constituted to probe the case. The explosives were kept in a tiffin box, said sources.
There were nearly 2,000 people at the convention centre when the blasts took place – the first one a little after 9.43 am – according to officials. Sunday was the last day of the three-day meeting, which started on October 27.