Bombs kill more than 50 in Delhi

NEW DELHI - Three powerful bombs ripped through New Delhi markets packed with families and shoppers last night ahead of the biggest Hindu and Muslim festivals of the year, killing over 50 people and wounding scores more. 

Charred bodies, blood, glass and smoking debris littered the scenes as rescuers frantically pulled out the dead and injured while thousands of survivors milled around in shock trying to find out what had happened to missing relatives.

At least 51 people were killed in the blasts which occurred within minutes of each other, said an aide to Delhi state Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. Fifty-four people were injured, the aide said.  The toll was later given as at least 55.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared it an act of terrorism, while adding it was too early to speculate who was responsible.  

"There was a huge sound," said Sunita, who lives near one of the devastated markets, in an area also poplar with foreign backpackers. "I saw many people lying on the ground. I saw a child's arm cut off and somebody else's brain smashed out. It was very bad. Very bad."  

Singh and other officials called for calm and police in the financial capital, Mumbai, put the city on high alert. Markets around Delhi began closing down as emergency vehicles battled their way through gridlocked streets.  

"He is very distressed," Singh's spokesman told reporters. "India will never be defeated by terrorism."  

India has blamed previous attacks on the capital on Pakistan-based militants, including one on parliament in 2001 that killed more than a dozen people and brought India and Pakistan to the brink of nuclear war.  

But the country is also racked by scores of rebellions and two cinema blasts blamed on Sikh separatists killed one person and injured dozens in May. 

As it has with previous attacks, Pakistan immediately condemned "these terrorist blasts". Indian officials said the powerful explosive RDX was used in all three explosions.  

The United States recently warned its citizens of a possible terrorist attack on US interests in Delhi and elsewhere and Indian authorities are hunting a suspected al Qaeda operative here. 

The city's American Embassy School cancelled all classes for Monday after Saturday's attacks.  

"We saw bodies terribly charred, limbs missing. It was a horrible sight, a terrible sight," one British tourist told NDTV television. "Don't let the terrorists win." 

The first blast was reported in the Paharganj district, near the main New Delhi railway station and an area popular with foreign backpackers. Shopkeepers there cleared their carts and used them as makeshift stretchers to rush victims to hospital. 

Other explosions were at the Sarojini Nagar market in south Delhi and in Govindpuri, a southern suburb.  

Chief Minister Dikshit said the attacks were clearly planned to spark terror. 

"It is something that has been planned, that is quite obvious," she told reporters. "It was someone whose intentions are not good, that is also obvious. 

"It's a very sad day for all of us. The fact that these blasts came and took away so many lives has dampened our spirits and made us feel very sad." 

On Tuesday, Hindus celebrate Diwali, or the festival of lights, and later in the week Muslims end the fasting month of Ramadan with Eid al-Fitr.  

Delhi's 14 million people are mostly Hindu, like in the rest of India, but there are about 1.7 Muslim residents in the city. 

The blasts occurred just on dusk on a fine autumn evening, with Delhi's markets and streets crammed with families, holidaymakers and shoppers, many dressed in their colourful best for the coming festivals.  

The wail of scores of sirens were punctuated by almost continuous explosions from fireworks being set off ahead of Diwali.  

The blast at Govindpuri occurred near an overcrowded bus and could have been much worse, officials said. 

The conductor noticed two men had left their bag behind and shouted at them, while a passenger opened it. The conductor hurled the bag into nearby brush, where it exploded.

- REUTERS