Kochi: One woman was killed and several others were injured in an explosion at a public event in Kalamassery on Sunday morning. The injured have been rushed to hospitals. 

The explosion occurred at 9.40 am at the Zamra international convention centre. Around 23 people were injured in the explosion. 

Eyewitness accounts claim that three explosions had taken place in a span of few minutes. The condition of five persons remains critical. 

TA Sreekumar, regional spokesperson, Jehovah's Witnesses told mathrubhumi.com that three explosions took place inside the convention hall at around 9:45 a.m. "The explosion occurred seconds after the end of a prayer as part of the day's event. The first blast took place in the middle of the hall. Seconds later, two more explosions rocked simultaneously on either sides of the hall," said TA Sreekumar

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The crowd in front of the Kalamassery hospital | Mathrubhumi Photo
The crowd in front of Kalamassery hospital | Mathrubhumi Photo

M.R. Ajith Kumar, ADGP, has rushed to Kochi to take stock of the situation. The government has issued an alert across the state. The bomb squad and dog squad of Kerala Police have arrived at the spot. Efforts are underway to douse the fire. 

The three-day convention began on October 27 and would conclude by Sunday noon. It is estimated that around 2300 people had registered for the event. 

The injured are shifted to the Kalamassery Medical College and other private hospitals. The convention centre was hosting a regional convention of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Jehovah's Witnesses are members of a religious movement that is related to Adventism --the doctrine that the second coming of Christ and the end of the world are near at hand.