A car explosion killed at least 10 people near a metro station at the landmark Red Fort monument in the Indian capital region of Delhi on Monday, according to a hospital official.
More than 30 other people were “badly injured,” said Dr. Manish Kumar Jha, a physician at the local Lok Nayak Hospital. “Many are not in a position of recovering,” he told reporters in the capital, New Delhi.
Police have launched an investigation into the cause of the blast, which is not yet known.
Before the explosion, a “slow-moving” vehicle “came to a stop” near a red light around 6:42 p.m. local time (5:42 a.m. ET), Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha told reporters.
“An explosion occurred in that vehicle. The passengers in the vehicle and people in surrounding vehicles were impacted,” Golcha said. At least six vehicles and three autorickshaws were set on fire, Reuters reported, citing Delhi’s deputy fire chief.
Emergency crews then arrived at the scene and extinguished the blaze – after receiving a call at 6:55 p.m. local time (5:55 a.m. ET), Sumit Kumar, a Delhi fire services official, told CNN. Survivors were taken to a nearby hospital.
Police lead a sniffer dog at the blast site on Monday. – Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images
Authorities will search surveillance cameras in the vicinity of the blast, according to Indian Home Minister Amit Shah, who will visit the site of the attack.
“We are investigating the explosion from every angle,” Golcha, the Delhi police commissioner, added. “The situation is being regularly monitored.”
Airports, railway stations, government buildings, heritage sites and other key areas are on high alert across India following the blast, according to the Central Industrial Security Force.
Footage of the aftermath showed streams of motorcyclists and passersby rushing toward the site of the blast, where huge, orange flames rose into the pitch-black sky. Residents recalled hearing a loud bang in the neighborhood in Delhi.
“We heard a big sound. Our windows shook,” one resident who did not give a name told Indian broadcaster NDTV, according to Reuters.
Another resident saw the flames from his house. “There was a loud explosion. I live nearby,” Rajdhar Pandey told CNN affiliate CNN News-18.
The Red Fort, known in India as the Lal Qila, is a 17th-century Mughal-era fort located in the old city and visited by tourists through the year, according to Reuters.
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.
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