WARNING: Contains references to the effects of the blast which some may find distressing.
TRANSCRIPT
A car has exploded near New Delhi’s historic Red Fort, killing at least eight people and injuring around 20 others.
The blast struck near the Red Fort metro station on Subhash Marg, in a densely populated area of the capital, Old Delhi.
The force of the explosion set several vehicles ablaze and left the road strewn with twisted metal, shattered glass, and human remains.
Shahrukh, a taxi driver whose cab was damaged in the blast describes the moment of the explosion.
“I was talking to my client while waiting, there was a blast, my eyes closed (involuntarily), I got scared. ... I got out of my car; the public was running, so I also ran.”
Emergency personnel immediately rushed to the scene, as police worked to seal off the area and control the crowd.
Omprakash, who lives just a short distance away, was at home with his children when the blast tore through the street.
He says he ran out and was met by a confronting scene.
“I was just 100 metres away. I was with my children in my house; I was having tea with them and there was such a huge blast that I came out of my house. I came rushing here and saw cars on fire, body parts all over, a dead body in two parts, another stuck to a windscreen of a car.”
Images from the site show burnt-out vehicles, broken glass and bloodstains on the road, with rows of ambulances lining the street.
The Red Fort, a 17th-century Mughal palace complex and UNESCO World Heritage site, is among India’s most recognisable landmarks, just a few kilometres from Parliament.
India’s Home Minister Amit Shah gave this update.
“This evening, at around 7pm, a blast occurred in a Hyundai i20 car near Red Fort monument at Subhash Marg Traffic Signal. There are reports of a few vehicles in the vicinity being destroyed and some people getting injured in the blast. As per the initial reports that I have received, a few people have also lost their lives in the blast.”
He went on to assure the public that every lead is being pursued.
“We are investigating the incident and exploring all the possibilities. We will share the results with the public after a thorough investigation.”
The probe is now being led by India’s National Investigation Agency, alongside Delhi Police and forensic experts.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has offered condolences to the families of those killed and wished the injured a swift recovery, while neighbouring regions, including Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh, were put under heightened security.
At Lok Nayak Hospital, where many of the injured were taken, police and anxious relatives stood outside as ambulances came and went.
Inside the hospital, doctors treated patients with burns and blast injuries.
Ambulance drivers who rushed to the scene described the horror of what they found.
One driver, who asked not to be named, describes what he saw.
“When we reached the blast site, we could find only bodies… we went there with about ten ambulances and found about four or five bodies and brought them to the hospital. ... The bodies were in parts, and we had to pick different parts and bring them back in the ambulances, and later brought them to the hospital."
Another emergency worker described how vehicles were still burning when they arrived:
“When I reached the spot and I saw a blast had occurred and vehicles were on fire, I saw a body lying on a Wagon R’s windshield, one was on the ground, and we did not know where the limbs of those bodies were.”
Investigators are now examining whether the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device, a mechanical fault, or a fuel-related accident.
Whatever the cause, the event has shaken confidence in Delhi’s security at a time of heightened political tension and religious festivals.
For now, Delhi mourns its dead as forensic teams work to determine exactly why the car exploded, and whether anyone was behind it.
