India: Blasts kill 27

2004-10-02 16:54

India - At least 27 people were killed and 93 wounded, many critically, in four powerful bomb blasts on Saturday in revolt-racked northeast India, officials said.

Three nearly simultaneous blasts went off in Dimapur, Nagaland's commercial hub, killing 26 people in what a top official called the "worst ever terrorist strike" in the tiny state's history.

"There were limbs everywhere and blood was splattered all over," said student leader T Zheviho who was at crowded Dimapur railway station where one bomb exploded as passengers awaited a train.

Two other bombs went off in the Hong Kong market, which sells Chinese goods, and an adjacent market.

"I had a miraculous escape," Zheviho said.

Police said the plastic explosive RDX appeared to have been used in the railway blast that created a huge crater beside a platform.

"We found a briefcase with fuse wires... it contained RDX and a timer-device," V Peseyie, Dimapur additional police chief, said, adding bomb experts were investigating the market explosions.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the blasts in the insurgency-infested northeast where some 30 guerrilla groups are battling for greater autonomy or independence.

A bomb also exploded in neighbouring Assam, killing one person and injuring seven but police said the attacks did not seem to be linked.

Hospitals battled to treat the wounded

The blasts occurred as India marked the 135th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi who led India's drive for independence from British rule.

Nagaland's ill-equipped hospitals battled to treat the wounded.

"Many have multiple face and abdomen wounds. They're in a state of trauma. We're trying to cope. We've never had such a devastating emergency," said doctor T Lotha at a private hospital in Dimapur treating blast victims.

Nagaland Chief Minister Neibhiu Rio said at least 26 people were killed in the Dimapur blasts and another 86 were in hospital. "The death toll may go up as many are in a very critical condition," he said.

Mourners crowded churches across Nagaland, which is mostly Christian, to pray for the victims.

The bomb attacks shattered the relative calm of the mainly farming state of two million where a truce has been in effect with Nagaland's largest separatist group, the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN), since 1997.

New Delhi and the NSCN have been holding talks aimed at ending nearly six decades of insurgency in the state. Two rival factions of the NSCN denied involvement in the blasts.

Federal Home Minister Shivraj Patil condemned the attacks as "inhuman and dastardly" and said authorities were determined to track down the culprits.

- AFP