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20 killed as car blows up
07/04/2007 17:17 - (SA)
New Delhi - A car carrying explosive material for quarry work blew up in India's southern Tamil Nadu state on Saturday, killing at least 20 people and injuring another 20, local media reports said.
Police said people noticed fumes emanating from a car parked on a highway near the Tindivanum town and tried to douse it when there was a sudden explosion, the IANS news agency reported.
Eight people - including the driver and some passers-by - were killed at the scene, while the others succumbed to the injuries at a hospital in Tindivanum which lies 200 kilometres south of state capital, Chennai.
However, other local news outlets put the death toll as high as 28. Doctors said some of the injured were in a "serious condition" and the toll could rise.
The explosion was so powerful that the car was ripped apart and nearly 40 houses in the vicinity were damaged.
The local administration rejected speculation that the car was carrying an explosives consignment meant to be smuggled to Tamil rebels in Sri Lanka.
There have been several seizures of explosives and components used in bombs in recent weeks in Tamil Nadu, a coastal state near Sri Lanka, which is home to the Tamils.
The NDTV network quoted state officials saying the car was carrying explosives for quarry work and digging of wells.
Senior police official, K Radhakrishnan also ruled out foul play and said the explosives and gelatine sticks were procured from a licensed dealer.
The police official said the car was moving into the interior of the state and not towards a coastal area. Police were investigating how the explosion took place, he added. - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA
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