KOCHI: Thirty-six people were injured and one woman died in the blast at a convention centre of a Christian religious group in Kalamassery in Kochi on Sunday morning, the Ernakulam District Collector said.
The Collector N S K Umesh said of the injured, 10 people were admitted to the burns unit of the Kalamassery Medical College and of them two, suffering from over 50 per cent burns, have been shifted to another hospital.
Besides that, eight people were admitted in the general ward of the medical college and the remaining 18 were under observation in various other hospitals, he told reporters here.
He also said the identity of the woman who died in the incident is not yet known.
People who were present at the convention centre told media that the first blast occurred in the middle of a prayer.
Another person present at the centre said there were over 2,000 people inside the hall when the incident occurred.
Visuals of the incident on TV channels showed fire rescue and police personnel in large numbers evacuating people from the site.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the media the incident was unfortunate and the police have taken it very seriously. “Senior officials, including the state DGP, have moved to Kochi. Among the injured, the condition of two is serious,” he said.
Outside the convention centre where hundreds had gathered, faces were etched with anxiety and tears. Inside, amidst the gloom and mystery that enveloped the site, police officers and firefighters searched for injured attendees.
Recounting her shocking experience, a senior woman said, “when I opened my eyes after hearing the first blast, all I saw was a fireball in front of me. Nothing…nothing more…just a fireball. Everybody ran scattered here and there. It was a sprawling hall, and a large number of people were inside.” One woman died and over 36 others were injured in the explosion at the convention centre this morning during a gathering of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, a Christian religious group that originated in the US in the 19th century.
Among the distressed crowd at the venue were senior citizens, including women who had actively participated in the morning prayers.
A man in his 70s, his voice trembling, described the shock of witnessing a blast amidst the densely populated prayer convention.
“I was standing at the side of the hall, praying with my eyes closed. Suddenly, a shocking blast was heard from nearby. I saw only fire around and ran to the door along with others,” he said, wiping away tears.
In all his years of attending the convention the attendee had never witnessed anything like this before, he said.
Another woman, her hands placed on her forehead, struggled to find the strength to recall the events during the prayers. “There were several elderly people and children among the participants,” she said, her voice quivering with emotion.
The eyewitness accounts depicted a horrifying scene.Agencies
