Thought tyre had burst: Eyewitness

Being the first working day of the week, residents and people working at the official bungalows of ministers were going about their work, when a loud noise startled them. Karn Pratap Singh reports.

Being the first working day of the week, residents and people working at the official bungalows of ministers were going about their work, when a loud noise startled them.

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Many of them assumed that it was a usual case of either a cylinder blast or bursting of a tyre, until the news about an explosion in a car made the rounds. As soon as locals learnt about the blast, they rushed to the spot.

Ranvir Singh, who is the owner of a petrol pump located around 300 metres away from the blast spot, said that he was busy with work in his office when he heard a loud bang.

"Initially, I thought the noise was of the bursting of a vehicle tyre. One of my staffers believed it could be a bomb blast, so we left to check what it actually was. We reached the spot within minutes, and found an Innova car engulfed in huge flames," said Singh.

By the time they reached, Singh said, areas around the blast spot were cordoned off and traffic was also diverted on other roads.

"A fire tender from the Air Force station located adjacent to the blast spot was busy dousing the flames. Some police personnel who had arrived on the spot were rescuing the two occupants of the Innova vehicle and two other men in an adjacent Indica car," added Singh.

Wasim, a member of the Delhi Gymkhana Club, located on Safdarjung Road, adjacent to the blast spot, said, "I was playing tennis with my friends at the club, when we heard a loud bang outside. We rushed inside the club's kitchen, thinking that the cooking gas cylinder had exploded. Later, we went to the area from where the noise had come. We saw a car engulfed in flames." He added that police personnel prevented them from assembling near the spot and asked them to leave.