22.2.13

Cycle bombs strike Hyderabad



Two powerful bombs tied to bicycles ripped through Hyderabad’s bustling Dilsukhnagar area killing at least 15 people and injuring over 100 here on Thursday evening, shattering the evening calm in this predominantly middle-class locality in the east of the city. No individual or group has claimed responsibility so far even as the nation was put on a state of alert.
The bombs triggered back-to-back explosions near popular movie theatres, blowing bodies into the air, flattening shops and houses and triggering panic among scores of injured people who were seen scurrying for cover in all directions with blood oozing out of their heads and legs.
The first bomb exploded near the Dilsukhnagar bus stop at 6.58 pm, close to Konark theatre and a minute later, another high intensity blast near a snack shop flung bodies into the air and created a crater, police and witnesses said.
Immediately after the blasts, a stampede prevailed at Dilsukhnagar as people tried to run out in all directions, with women carrying small children in the arms and looking for safety. Locals rushed to the aid of the injured crying in pain.


At least 25 people were initially rushed to the Osmania Hospital and 15 were rushed to the Yashoda Hospital in Malakpet along with five other hospitals, police said. Two days of strike by nurses and Group IV staff caught doctors at the emergency ward completely off guard and some patients even offered to help. But with the CT scan machine not functioning at the hospital, most of the injured could not be scanned for any internal hemorrhage. The 108 ambulance service alone shifted 42 injured to various hospitals, an official said. Four of the same family among scores of other injured were lying unattended for hours, as the few staff present struggled to attend to all the wounded.
Similar scenes were seen at Yashoda and Omni, where scores of injured were taken for treatment. Immediately after the blasts, phone lines got jammed and people left offices in a hurry, causing huge traffic jams all around. Many shops and business establishments downed their shutters.
As part of a security measure, police closed down many roads, diverted traffic and shut shops near the blast site and in the Old City’s Begum Bazaar, Gulzar House and Charminar.

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