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MLA
07-11-2006, 09:30 AM
From CNN:

MUMBAI, India (CNN) -- At least 70 people have been killed in seven explosions on crowded rush-hour commuter trains in the Indian financial capital of Mumbai, police said.

Officials said more than 300 people were injured in the blasts, which took place between 6:20 and 7 p.m. (1250 and 1330 GMT) when the trains were packed with commuters making their way home.

A correspondent for CNN's sister network, CNN-IBN, reported seeing 15 bodies at the Matunga train station in Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay.

Video from one station showed people with blood on them being treated, other commuters carrying victims and some people lying motionless near train tracks. (Watch rescuers pull blood-covered victims from wrecked trains -- 1:59)

At least one train was split in half by the explosion.

The Western Railway system -- used by 4.5 million people daily -- was shut down and Mumbai's subway system was put on high alert after the blasts in the city's western suburbs. Police in the capital of New Delhi also heightened security.

Airports across India were also put on high alert, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called an emergency meeting of his ministers after the explosions.

One person was arrested in New Delhi in police raids after the explosions, CNN-IBN reported, but there was no claim of responsibility for the attacks. The blasts took place in quick succession -- a tactic used by Kashmiri militants who have often targeted Indian cities.

Earlier Tuesday, a grenade attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed at least four people. Authorities believe militants are responsible for that attack on a minibus in Srinagar. There was no immediate indication of a connection to the Mumbai blasts.

The blasts hit trains or platforms at the Khar, Mahim, Matunga, Jogeshwari, Borivili and Bhayander stations, in that order. Another hit a train between the Khar and Santa Cruz stations, a police official told CNN-IBN.

One CNN-IBN correspondent who was on a train hit by an explosion said the train was just leaving the station when the blast occurred. Several people jumped from the train and were killed when they were hit by the train.

"Limbs (are) lying everywhere, bodies (were) cleared from the tracks by local business owners who rushed from their shops," the correspondent said.

On March 7, 14 people were killed in attacks on a temple and a rail station in Varansi. On March 12, 1993, more than 250 people were killed in Mumbai when 13 bombs exploded in several locations in the city.

The city's commuter rail network is among the most crowded in the world.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/07/11/mumbai.blasts/index.html

alootikki
07-11-2006, 11:14 AM
How awful! :(

Dally
07-11-2006, 04:10 PM
So sad.

Surely at some point terrorists will realize that when you piss off the whole world, you won't get your way. :mad:

:(

vee05
07-12-2006, 09:27 PM
The death toll is upto 200 now and the injured list is over 500. many of the injured are still critical. Mumbai is back on its feet and Mumbaikers are back to their daily doings but with the fear of uncertainty of the future.

Ive read some terrifying stories and seen pics and watched Indian teleivision channels and my heart breaks over and over again. its like reliving 911 over nd over again with these outbreaks of craziness around the globe.

miel
07-13-2006, 01:43 AM
It's very tragic. They still don't know who did it or why? All the poor people from shanties came and brought their clothes to use as stretchers. They have so little but they did that.

MLA
07-13-2006, 07:06 AM
All the poor people from shanties came and brought their clothes to use as stretchers. They have so little but they did that.

That just warms my heart. I love knowing that in the face of incredible cruelty and chaos, people can still show such kindness. The juxtaposition of the noble and terrible parts of human nature is just so striking in these sorts of situations.

vee05
07-13-2006, 07:48 AM
The Mumbai authorities have arrested and detained over 400 people but no group has taken official responsibility yet. Mumbai though is back to normal or atleast trying to be back to normal. I talked to my family there and they said people were still worried but life has to go on since they dont want to show anyone that they as a people are scared or bowing down these acts.

miel
07-13-2006, 01:38 PM
Hi Vee. Wow, you have family there. That must have been scary for you. I'm gald your family was not hurt.

I've read a few things about how resilient and indomitable the people who live in Mumbai are. One writer was complaining about that in the NY Times because this obscures the fact that the city authorities are incompetent or corrupt. But they do sound pretty amazing in their ability to pick up and go on.

vee05
07-13-2006, 08:20 PM
I was in Mumbai in May for 2 weeks. My family lives off one of those stations. My cousins ride those trains everyday. My parents grew up around there. The people of Mumbai are remarkable just like New Yorkers. The corruption and incompetence dies when they see their fellow brothers and sisters in trouble and pain. their hearats open up and they are the most giving people in the planet then.I think they realised that 6.51 million people ride these trains everyday and that they just cannot let everything shut down and sit there not doing anything since this would bring India to shame. Nobody wanted to see that and they did us proud by picking up and getting on. They mourned the dead and cry with the ones injured and the ones who loved near and dear ones but they also know they have to continue.

vee05
07-13-2006, 09:01 PM
So Dh's friend just called to ask if DH's family was fine and then gave us the news that one of their other friends cousin was one of the 180 that passed away during the explosions. I hope n pray his family recovers from this horror.

miel
07-13-2006, 09:15 PM
Vee So sorry to hear about that. I hope his family recovers eventually. It's always such an enormous loss.

I think New Yorkers were really remarkable also in the way they went on, but they were also traumatized and maybe still are, in little ways. I think terrorism is always traumatic. Natural disasters are--I was in one and it was a while before I felt safe again. But terrorism seems a lot worse.

vee05
07-13-2006, 09:23 PM
oh yeh...i am not even a new yorker but till today i will never forget the emotions that went thru everyone...i wont forget the girl on the phone choking up and telling me that her brother might have died since he worked on the 106th floor of the WTC. the tone of her voice still haunts me and anything related to 911 or the london blasts or spain or the 1993 Mumbai blasts bring back horrific memories. My uncle missed one of the busses that 10 minutes later blew up in the 1993 blasts. i just wish these people realise the pain n sorrow they r bringing human kind.