8 killed in Delhi car blast

New Delhi, Nov 10: A high-intensity explosion ripped through a car parked near the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening, gutting several vehicles and killing at least eight people, officials said.

Twenty-four people were also injured in the blast that took place on a busy evening when the area was milling with people.

The injured were taken to the LNJP Hospital, a few kilometres away. Videos shared by the Chandni Chowk Traders’ Association showed the magnitude of the blast.

A body could be seen lying on a vehicle.

Another video showed a body lying on the road.

Eyewitnesses said body parts could be seen scattered near the blast site.

A high alert has been sounded in Delhi.

Ten fire tenders were rushed to the spot with the Police cordoning off the area, the Delhi Fire Services said.

Officials said the fire was brought under control by 7:29 pm. “Six cars, two e-rickshaws, and an auto-rickshaw were gutted,” said a Fire Department official.

A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) reached the spot.

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

“The blast occurred in a car parked near Red Fort metro station Gate No 1. The intensity was quite high. Injuries are feared,” said a senior official of the Delhi Fire Service.

Visuals of the incident showed plumes of fire billowing from the burning cars.

Panic gripped the area as several vehicles were seen damaged at the spot following the loud explosion.

An injured eyewitness, who suffered a wound on his forehead, said the explosion appeared to have originated from a car, probably a Maruti 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.” President of the Chandni Chowk Traders Association, Sanjay Bhargaw, whose shop is about 800 metres from the incident site, said the entire building shook due to the blast. There was chaos in the market as people started running, he said.

A high alert has been sounded in Delhi.

Delhi Police’s Special Cell and anti-terror squads cordoned off the area, and forensic teams began collecting samples from the wreckage.

PM MODI SPEAKS TO AMIT SHAH

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the situation after the blast, and spoke with Home Minister Amit Shah, government sources said.

According to government sources, PM Modi has taken stock of the situation.

He also spoke with Home Minister Shah and took an update, they said.

HOME MINISTER REVIEWS SITUATION

Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to the Delhi Police chief and the Director of the Intelligence Bureau to take stock of the situation following a blast near the Red Fort, sources said.

Shah also directed the chiefs of the National Security Guard (NSG), National Investigation Agency (NIA), and forensic sciences to send expert teams to the blast site to assist the probe and collect evidence.

The Home Minister spoke to the Delhi Police Commissioner, the Director of the Intelligence Bureau and the Union Home Secretary to take stock of the situation following the blast, sources said.

The three top officers briefed him about the incident, they said. Experts of the NSG and investigators of the NIA have rushed to the blast site, sources said.

The NSG team comprised explosive experts, while the NIA team consisted of investigators experienced in terror cases.

A team of forensic experts has also rushed to the spot, sources said.

The Home Minister said investigators were keeping all options open while probing the blast near the Red Fort.

“The blast took place in a Hyundai i20 car at a traffic signal near Red Fort here at around 7 pm. It damaged three to four other vehicles and injured pedestrians and people travelling in auto rickshaws. All angles are being probed by the investigators, and no possibility is ruled out, he said after meeting some of the injured at the LNJP hospital here,” he said.

On whether it was a terrorist attack, Shah said, “It is difficult to say what caused the incident. Until the samples recovered from the blast site are analysed by forensics and NSG, we can’t say anything. But we are not ruling out anything and investigating all angles.”

The Home Minister said teams of the Delhi Police, NIA, NSG, and forensics have started the probe and expressed hope that the exact details of the blast would be unearthed soon.

“I will visit the blast site soon and will hold a high-level meeting tomorrow with top officials to analyse the explosion,” he said.

Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken to him, and he had briefed him about the blast.

“Teams have begun a thorough investigation,” he said.

‘BODY PARTS SCATTERED EVERYWHERE, SKY TURNED RED’

Mangled bodies lying on vehicles and road, pieces of flesh scattered on the streets and flames rising up to the sky… recalled the eyewitnesses of a high-intensity explosion that ripped through a slow-moving car close to the Red Fort metro station.

While I was standing and talking to someone, a body part… a hand, with the man’s shirt still on it, fell right behind me, Amit Mudgal, 36, said.

Recalling the terrifying moments following the explosion, he said, “About 20 minutes ago, the situation was unbelievable. There was a huge blast, and within seconds, the sky was covered in red smoke.”

“Everyone was screaming and running for cover,” Mudgal said. He said the impact was so severe that human remains were scattered across the street.

“As I moved towards the fire, I helped several people get into ambulances,” Mudgal said.

An injured eyewitness, who had a wound on his forehead, said the explosion appeared to have originated from a car parked nearby. “I am an auto rickshaw driver. There was a car in front of my auto, most probably a Maruti Swift. I don’t know how it happened, but something in that car suddenly blasted,” he said.

A high-intensity explosion ripped through a car near the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening, gutting several vehicles, officials said.

Manoj, who runs a pani puri stall near Jama Masjid, said he felt the intensity of the blast from over a kilometre away.

“I was having food when we suddenly felt the blast in our chests, it was massive,” he said. “I rushed here and saw people screaming, some lying motionless. There was an autorickshaw driver badly injured; he was taken to the hospital.” Another witness, Bhupinder Singh, who was driving a loading vehicle, said the explosion occurred just as the traffic signal turned green.

“We were moving slowly when the blast happened. The window glass shattered, and we ran towards the market. It was very crowded, nobody knew what was happening,” he said. Recalling the gut-wrenching scenes, Singh said, “We saw the body parts of two or three men blown to pieces.”

Irfan, another eyewitness, said the scene was horrific.

“We saw severed hands, fingers, and even the steering wheel of a car blown off. There were handcart pullers and taxi drivers caught in the blast; some of them didn’t survive,” he said.

Videos circulating on social media showed panicked locals shouting “Bomb phat gaya!” (A bomb has exploded!) and “Kata hua haath hai!” (There’s a severed hand!) as flames rose from the burning vehicles.

RED FORT BLAST BRINGS BACK MEMORIES OF DELHI’S DARK DAYS

Delhi was jolted once again after 14 years.

For a city that has often been at the heart of the country’s most terrible terror strikes, the sound of another explosion felt like an unwelcome echo from the past.

Delhi’s historic markets, monuments and public spaces have, time and again, found themselves on the frontline of violence, each incident etching deep scars in its collective memory. The summer of 1996 remains one of the darkest chapters, when a powerful bomb ripped through Lajpat Nagar market, one of the capital’s busiest shopping hubs, killing 13 people and injuring dozens.

Just a year later, a chain of explosions rocked multiple parts of the city, from Sadar Bazaar and Karol Bagh to Rani Bagh, Chandni Chowk and even a moving bus in Punjabi Bagh. The blasts struck at the city’s heart – its markets and streets – where daily life carried on amid growing unease.

The Red Fort itself, now again in the news for tragic reasons, has long been a symbolic target.

In December 2000, a terror group opened fire inside the fort complex, killing two people. Barely a year later, the Parliament attack of December 2001 once again placed Delhi at the centre of terror, claiming the lives of nine security personnel and staff members.

The years that followed brought more pain.

In 2005, a series of coordinated explosions just two days before Diwali tore through Paharganj, Sarojini Nagar and a DTC bus in Govindpuri, killing over 67 people and injuring more than 200.

The festive spirit was replaced by fear as the blasts struck the heart of the capital’s markets.

Three years later, in 2008, five near-simultaneous explosions hit Connaught Place, Karol Bagh and Greater Kailash, killing over 20 people and injuring dozens.

The last major terror strike before Monday’s incident was in 2011, when a briefcase bomb exploded outside the Delhi High Court, leaving 15 dead and 79 injured.

With the latest explosion near Red Fort, Delhi’s uneasy calm has been broken once again, reviving memories of the years when terror sought to shake the city’s spirit.