Pedestrians ran helter skelter soon after the low-intensity IED went off near Coconut Groove restaurant on Church Street around 8.30 p.m. on Sunday.
About four to five persons were walking on the pavement outside Coconut Grove when the restaurant manager Aravin Dakshan heard the blast. “One lady fell down on the road and was grievously injured. There were around 10 to 15 customers in the restaurant,” he said. He said that the restaurant was later closed and police cordoned off the road.
Amanullah Khan, posted as security guard at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, which is a few meters away from the blast site, said that there was a pool of blood and one person was thrown away due to the impact. “The lady (Bhavani) had blood on her face and she was screaming. She was rushed in an auto. Three to four children were also on the footpath. We don’t know whose children they were,” he said. Mr. Khan recollected that several people panicked and ran away from the scene.
The blast was heard by people who were at least 500 metres away from the blast site.
Confusion prevailed for a few minutes. Some people were screaming. Initially, some people who work in the vicinity mistook it for a transformer blast because of an earlier incident where a pedestrian was killed. Some others thought it was a cracker or cylinder blast.
Soon, people in restaurants and entertainment spots nearby rushed to the spot where the sound was heard. They realised it was a bomb blast after the Cubbon Park police arrived.
Lahari Velu, Managing Director of Lahari Music, had passed the site, with his elder brother, a few minutes before the blast.
