Mumbai serial blasts: Opera House is worst hit

A thunderclap sounded in a lane next to Pancharatna Building at Opera House in south Mumbai at around 6.55 pm, taking the passersby and residents by surprise.

The blast, the most intense of the three, is suspected to have been triggered in a motor cycle parked next to a Wagon R car. The police suspect the explosives were kept in the motorcycle because the damage caused to it is the maximum.

Jitendra Shah, a Bhayander resident, who works for a broking firm at Pancharatna, and an eyewitness, said, “I heard the blast sound and went numb. Initially, I thought it was a cylinder blast, but later when I saw people lying on the floor and blood splattered everywhere it sank that it was a blast. After that, I helped move 10 bodies with the help of others to the hospital.”

The area was thereafter cordoned off and people from local areas and shops rushed to the spot to help the injured and deceased. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals like Saifee and Harkishondas, while those who suffered minor injuries were treated at private clinics.

Family members of Asgar Faiz Mohammed, 25, who died in the blast, said, “We rushed to the spot hoping that he would be safe but we found he was no more. The government should do something to ensure that such blasts don’t occur repeatedly and our loved ones don’t have to lose their lives.”

Kalpesh Surakhia, another broker working at Pancharatna, said “I passed the blast spot just two minutes before and heard the thunder as I was walking and then saw bodies lying on the ground. I was lucky to survive and my first response to the blast was to help those injured and lying on the ground.”

The police arrived at the spot and cordoned off the area, while traffic around the zone was diverted to other routes.