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Bombs Explode on Mumbai's Western Railway Lines

Aired July 11, 2006 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Scenes of utter chaos we're seeing there in Mumbai, India, as we watch this breaking news story from Mumbai, where seven near simultaneous explosions have hit crowded commuter trains at rush hour.
We do welcome all our viewers and those of you in the United States.

I'm Rosemary Church.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes. And I'm Michael Holmes.

We're going to continue coverage of the incredibly well- coordinated attack on what was the major Western Railway in Mumbai, the financial hub of India. We are told by police that at least 135 people have been killed, more than 250 others are said to be injured.

Now, as Rosemary said, these explosions hit in quick succession along the west side of Mumbai's railway, about three and a half hours ago now.

CHURCH: Now, the sheer force of the blast blew at least one of the trains in half. And we've heard a number of eyewitness reports. Some say the passengers were killed jumping from those running trains trying to save themselves.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): As we approached Mantunga Station, there was a massive blast. As the blast happened, the train stopped, and we saw that it had happened in the first class compartment, where many people had died. We helped many people. We pulled the torn metal and pulled people out from there. Half of them jumped out of the train and fell.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: A massive rescue effort is under way, but it is being hampered in some areas by heavy rain.

Now, earlier, we spoke to Mumbai's police commissioner. Here is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At the moment, we have information that there have been blasts on -- in the Western Railway route, some in the trains and a couple on (INAUDIBLE). Total, so far, we have information about seven such blasts.

There are some casualties. Details about figures of casualties and injured people are yet to come.

Right now we are busy in rescue operations (INAUDIBLE) to hospitals for their treatment, removing dead bodies from there to hospitals for further action. Also taking steps to ensure that nothing anywhere else something like this should happen. And also, to help people in trying to -- rescuing them and allowing people to be able to move back to their respective places.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Now, in fact, the capital city, New Delhi -- that's in the northern part of India -- has been put on high alert, as have airports around the country. So far, there's been no claim of responsibility, but police say one person was apparently arrested in raids immediately follows those blasts.

HOLMES: Now, the home minister in India says intelligence indicated an attack might be about to take place. However, he said they didn't have enough detail, did not know the place nor the time.

The prime minister of India, Manmohan Singh, has called an emergency meeting immediately following the blasts. He has issued a same calling the explosion a shameful act. He is urging people to remain calm. And we should also point out that the Pakistani president and prime minister have also condemned this bombing.

CHURCH: All right. We want to go to our sister station, CNN- IBN, to listen to their coverage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those people, go to the closest friend or relative they have or they know of in the nearby vicinity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been speaking to Western Railway officials also earlier today, Rokshan (ph). Are they saying that people could get -- those trains will be back on track tomorrow morning?

I mean, if we look back to 1993, the Bombay Stock Exchange was up in 24 hours. I mean, it was -- it was bombed out one day, and the very next day it was up and about.

What are they saying for commuters who perhaps have to go back to office tomorrow morning?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, absolutely, the Western Railway's primary effort now is to get those lines functional again. Also, let's remember, all of the Western lines at least have four lines at any given station.

And, therefore, it is possible for the Western Railway to restart services tomorrow morning, even though the fast trains will not be fast and, therefore, the slow trains may have to move on those fast lines. Yet, it will be possible for Western Railways to restore partially at least those services into Mumbai and out to the suburbs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In fact, it seems almost like it was just a week ago that (INAUDIBLE) were being told to stay home because of the floods. Tonight they're being asked to stay home because of these serious bomb blasts.

Has Bombay's emergency preparedness somehow gotten better because of all these emergencies?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely, (INAUDIBLE). The fact is that the disaster management set up here in Mumbai has been geared for the monsoon, has been basically timed and aimed for this period of the year, which is what has come as really handy right now in this hour of crisis, because the emergency services almost immediately swung in.

We had police -- police stations jumping across jurisdictions, coming in to rescue people. The fire stations and the emergency, the VMC (ph) disaster management cell (ph) worked with clockwork precision almost in tandem with the police control room. So, there is really a story for Mumbai here.

The resilience is not just shown by the Mumbai (INAUDIBLE), but also by the emergency services, which almost swung in almost automatically.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. Rokshan (ph), in fact, the (INAUDIBLE) chief minister, (INAUDIBLE), was also speaking to us earlier. He says that there will be a cabinet -- emergency cabinet meeting at 10:00 p.m. today in Mumbai.

We've also told you here at the center the prime minister has held meetings with high officials of his security establishment, including Home Minister Shri Shivraj Patil Hon'ble, who has flown to Mumbai. Also, word coming in from the (INAUDIBLE) is going from Endabad (ph) to Mumbai tomorrow morning. And (INAUDIBLE) also going there.

Sonia Gandhi has conveyed her grief and condolences to the bereaved families after this disaster. And interestingly, President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan has also severely condemned the blast.

Remember, whenever blasts of this kind occur, the finger of suspension always points in the direction of (INAUDIBLE), which is Pakistan based.

Let's get another eyewitness account from a citizen. This is Nupou (ph), who gives us her report of what she saw on the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Go on, Nupou (ph). Tell us, what did you see, Nopou (ph)?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually, I was traveling from (INAUDIBLE) in the taxi, and we were just heard a big blast. And the whole traffic just stopped.

And everybody here started jumping on the train and coming on to the rubble. And, actually, we didn't know what had happened. We thought maybe it was an electric shock or something.

And the people outside Mantunga Station, they just stopped. All the taxis made us get down. And that's when we came to know that they wanted to take the injured to the hospitals.

So they told us to get off the cabs, and, you know, they put the injured in the cabs and they started taking them to the hospitals.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It seems like it was a community effort before the police was able to come in over there.

Nopou (ph), describe some of the emergency services for us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually, at that time there were no emergency services, but the local boys, local youngsters of that area, had already started getting the people out, putting them in the cabs, and, you know, started taking them to the hospitals. And there were one or two railway police there, but they were also stopping the traffic and whatever possible aid they could be -- or the public could give them, what was being given to them at that time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And, Nopou (ph), in fact, we've seen some of those pictures to us here again. You look at the manner in which local citizens seen to have gotten their act together. It's remarkable, through the pouring rain, people who live along the tracks live pretty -- live life on the edge, really, along the railway tracks. They seem to have come out in large numbers to help people out through the rain and taken them to hospitals, which is perhaps why hopefully the death toll won't be as high as it would have been otherwise if these people have not helped out.

And, in fact, if you have any pictures, video or information related to the Mumbai blast, just type CJ. Send a (INAUDIBLE). Write in and send your information to editor@IBNLIVE.com.

Also, come to our office, at Empire Building, which is in central Mumbai, and give us your pictures. Become a citizen journalist, only on CNN-IBN.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And certainly when you talk about citizens, it seems amazing when you see the pictures of mangled coaches, of bodies strewn, of blood-splattered windows that others were not -- were not fazed, that they went ahead and did their job, did their citizen's duty in helping people out.

Look at this. A citizen journalist of ours, Aditya Bobhate, has sent us these images from the blast site in Jogeshwari. Aditya lives near the Jageshwari railway station, and he told us earlier that he heard a big bang, he went there to find out.

And the pictures he has taken, as you can see, not very many people in uniform being seen right at that moment, just after the blast happened in Jageshwari. But the pictures he has sent us, the crowds of people in a calm and collected manner trying to help other people out. It's certainly is a very heartening site on this day which has really been such a frightening day for many in Mumbai.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Let's go straight to Pranai Prabhakar of the Western Railway now joins us.

Thanks very much, Mr. Prabhakar, for joining us, sir.

Give us more information. We were told another bomb blast -- another bomb had been diffused at (INAUDIBLE) station. Have all the stations now been cleared of commuters, sir?

PRANAI PRABHAKAR, CHIEF PRO, WESTERN RAILWAY: Yes. All the stations have been cleared and the security checks are going on. Security checks -- we are also trying to check how we can (INAUDIBLE). But, however, (INAUDIBLE).

We hope to start some service by tonight.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now, Mr. Prabhakar, many of your coaches have been damaged. Of course we are looking at pictures of those. They seem to have been exploded. Don't seem to be coaches that could be fixed very soon.

How soon are you expecting to be back on the Western Railway line?

PRABHAKAR: Look, these are about seven coaches. So (INAUDIBLE). We will try to check the tracks first, and then we will try to move these rigs (ph) from (INAUDIBLE). And then only we will be able to start the trains.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a wonderful picture there of that lady smiling and people sleeping on the same railway tracks where those blasts have taken place. And it almost is a -- it's a city that never sleeps.

But, Mr. Prabhakar, could you take us ahead over the next 24 hours? What is the Western Railway going to do over the next 24 hours? Can we expect much as what happened in March 1993, when Mumbai was back on its feet in 24 hours? Will the railways be back on their feet, sir, in the next 24 hours?

CHURCH: All right. We're going leave our sister station, CNN- IBN, there for a moment and return to their coverage a little later, perhaps.

We want to get the latest now on this developing story. And we're joined on the line by correspondent Seth Doane.

Seth, you're at the airport there. Just wanted to get an idea from you. We're seeing chaos there on the screens as we covered this story. A lot of criticism about the security or the lack thereof at the station. Also, the emergency response there.

Is it all as chaotic as it looks?

SETH DOANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have been on the line with a number of people in Mumbai. I am in New Delhi, en route to Mumbai currently. Getting a phone call through to that city has been nearly impossible at times.

Speaking with the CNN news representatives on the ground, they said they had to go blocks and blocks to be able to get a cell signal to be able to call us. They say it is complete chaos, and from all the pictures I'm seeing being fed in our sister station, CNN-IBN, and other Indian media here, the pictures are quite gruesome.

CHURCH: What about the response at hospitals? Are they able to copy with what's happening and the number of people?

I think the latest figures we have, 135 people dead, about 260 or so people injured. Those numbers have fluctuated as we've been covering this in the last few hours.

But what about the response at the hospital level?

DOANE: Yes, we're hearing the same numbers. Police confirming around 135 people dead already. Up to 250 -- we've heard close to 300, according to Mumbai police, possibly injured.

We have spoken with some CNN news representatives on the ground who have been in touch with hospitals, who have been relaying figures to us that unfortunately the death toll continues to rise. But as to exact operations inside the hospitals, I can't answer that for you.

CHURCH: And Seth, we're also hearing that the country has been -- or parts of the country, at least, are being put on high alert in every state capital. You're there in New Delhi at the airport.

What's the security like there?

DOANE: Well, the security is relatively chaotic here at the airport at the moment. Security is in place. So it's hard to tell how different this would be from a normal evening. But there is a sense of anticipation, a bit of chaos, even here in the capital.

As you know, Manmohan Singh, the prime minister here, has appealed for calm in India, but also, all cities are at a heightened state of alert, including New Delhi.

CHURCH: And Seth, interestingly, in the wake of this, not long after the seven near simultaneous blasts went off along the Western Railway line, we heard from Pakistan as well.

What all has been said from there?

DOANE: Well, Pervez Musharraf had said that he condemns the attacks. That was the word I had -- that's the word I had received crossing the wires.

Incidentally, there was another separate unrelated attack in Kashmir earlier in the day. A number of people killed. It has been a day that has really rocked India.

CHURCH: And also, there was a report of a possible arrest in connection with these blasts. What information do you have on that?

DOANE: I can confirm I've seen those wires as well. That information coming across. I have no independent confirmation of that.

Our sister station, CNN-IBN, (INAUDIBLE) reporting that (INAUDIBLE) also in a western suburb of Mumbai has been diffused. That according to our sister station, CNN-IBN, here.

One thing I think is interesting just in terms of painting a picture for what the chaos may be like there on the ground in Mumbai, it is India's financial capital. And...

CHURCH: Seth, I'm going to have to leave you there for a moment. Sorry.

Seth Doane talking to us there.

There's a live report from a reporter who was actually on one of those trains that exploded.

Let's just listen in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you come to terms with what you saw, what, less than four hours ago, Jency?

JENCY JACOB, IBN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as journalists, we're always proud about the fact that we are on the spot every time. But this is one train journey, not only just the passenger, my co- passengers, but even I would like to forget. Because I was just one compartment.

It was the first class compartment that -- that bore the brunt of the entire explosion. Beyond, it was the woman's compartment. And after that was the compartment in which I was traveling, between Santa Cruz and Kar (ph).

The train suddenly came to a stop because there was a -- there was a loud noise which nearly busted your eardrums. There was total panic.

There was silence for about -- nearly for about 30 seconds, then people could not comprehend what had happened. And suddenly, people started jumping out of the train, realizing that there could be an explosion that had taken place.

I also managed to jump out of the train. And then I saw -- I saw the entire compartment, the entire first class compartment totally torn to pieces. And there were people lying all around with blood all over their bodies.

There were some people who were not even able to comprehend what has happened to them because they were sitting there, not injured, but the mere shock of having been -- become a victim of a bomb explosion was something that they were not able to take. I spoke to some of them, tried to help some of them, but they just had no clue about what had taken place.

Luckily, the people around collected themselves very fast, even before the police could come. And not blaming the police, but even before they could come they managed to take all of these people.

There were people who were throwing bed sheets from their nearby buildings for the people to be collected. There were no stretchers. So these bed sheets they used as stretchers to be taken. There were people who were cordoning off the entire area.

So hats off to (INAUDIBLE). They came there, they showed that why Mumbai is such an excellent city despite all the tragedies that seem to be taken place here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretty resilient yourself. I mean, three and a half hours ago you were on a train on which there's been a bomb blast, and there you are reporting. Remarkable work, Jency.

You have been on this story right since -- you were the first to tell -- and tell, really, the world today as to what happened.

We're coming back to you in just a moment, but I'm joined at the moment by a citizen journalist.

This is Anan Bajaji (ph) who joins us.

Anan (ph), tell us your story. Where were you when the blast took place?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was actually at home. But I'm just nervous about my schoolteachers. And I'm just shocked at what has happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are you nervous about your schoolteachers, Anan (ph)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because they're all (INAUDIBLE). And I'm very nervous.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anan (ph), how old are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm 16.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sixteen. This must have been one of the most frightening things you've ever seen.

What exactly did you see?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've just been watching the news, but the most frightening was in 2003 when we were in school.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right, Anan (ph). Well, let's hope your teachers are safe. Thanks very much, Anan (ph), for joining us. Jency, just take it a little bit forward now. You're still at that same station where all of this happened, and you were there at the spot three and a half hours ago.

At the moment, the place completely cleared up. Do you want to just give us a look behind you what's happening?

JACOB: Before that, I would also like to tell you, I had no cameras with me, nothing. As of now -- at that time with me, nearly two hours since this incident took place.

I decided to go out and have a look at the roads to see how are the roads -- you know, how are the roads in Mumbai, considering that the entire lifeline of Mumbai, the Western Railway, was shut down, people are not able to go.

I went to a nearby cousin's office. Let me tell you, people are all in their offices. They decided not to go out, because they didn't want to risk going out on the roads.

I could see cabs. You know, we always talk about cabs and (INAUDIBLE) drivers (INAUDIBLE). But let me tell you, at the moment, the reason why we're still here was because of the fact that a cab driver agreed to (INAUDIBLE), and they were taking people, five, six, seven people inside the cabs, and they were taking them.

So, right now, people are panicked. They were panicking sometime back. But now things are returning back to normal, and that's the spirit of Mumbai that we've always talked about. And there's more to bee seen here on the field than more than what I could convince you. I think it has to be seen to be believed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right. And certainly your own escape over there (INAUDIBLE) is fairly remarkable. Thank g for your safety.

Jency, give us a sense also of what the police have been doing in these last three and a half hours, certainly where you have been.

JACOB: The police have a very tough job. Let me tell you what I saw, what I witnessed (INAUDIBLE) when the bomb explosion took place.

You know, it took time for the police to come, because (INAUDIBLE) wasn't near us. It was just a stone's throw away from the Santa Cruz railway station, where this explosion took place.

The people were very agitated inside. I did reveal my identity of being a journalist because they were -- they were very irritated with journalists coming around and trying to take pictures, trying to take pictures through their mobile phones, trying to take pictures.

So they were very irritated. They did not want any journalists to come nearby because they thought that would impair their work.

The police came after some time. In fact, one of the constables who came there (INAUDIBLE) because they felt that they had to take all these people to the hospitals. But the police did not come. But let us also remember -- and also, I would like to send out this message to citizens of Mumbai, that the police did their job. It was quite difficult for them because these are serious bomb blasts that took place, they were not able to collect themselves. But they...

HOLMES: CNN-IBN there, continuing their coverage of this breaking news story.

Now, a little earlier, I spoke with a counterterrorism expert, Brahma Chellaney. He's with the Center for Policy Research. He joined us from New Delhi. Here's part of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRAHMA CHELLANEY, CENTER FOR POLICY RESEARCH: Right, it's like the bombings are an ugly reminder of how India is coming under siege from the forces of terror. This is the latest in a series of major attacks that India has faced in the past 10 months.

Last October, we had major bombings in New Delhi, right under the nose of the government. More people died in the New Delhi bombings than in the London bombings. And after the New Delhi bombings, we had attacks in Bangalore, in Banaras, in (INAUDIBLE), and now in Bombay. And we shouldn't forget that Bombay was the target of terrorists way back in 1993, when international terror wasn't even a recognized problem for much of the international community.

In the bombings of 1993, hundreds of people were killed by Islamists who targeted high-rise buildings. In fact, the Bombay bombings of 1993 occurred in the same year as the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York. And the terrorists employed the same technique in Bombay. In fact, the Bombay bombings came just two months after the World Trade Center in New York was bombed.

HOLMES: Tell me this. It is very early on. And we don't want to speculate too much here. But does this show the hallmark of any one particular group in your experience?

CHELLANEY: There have been major terror attacks in India, and in each and every major attack the investigators have found links with Pakistan-based jihadist groups. The Delhi bombings example were linked to a group which is at the core of the al Qaeda network called (INAUDIBLE), which is a group based in Pakistan, receives support from the Pakistan military.

It has been waging major campaigns of terror in India, Afghanistan, even in the West. That same group was also linked with the attack in Banaras, which happened subsequent to the Delhi bombings.

So, as investigations into the Bombay bombings begin, I would not be surprised if links are found with Pakistan-based groups.

(CROSSTALK) HOLMES: And what would be the motivation of such groups? What would be their motivation for carrying out some -- and action of this -- this magnitude?

CHELLANEY: That's a good question. The attacks in the past, including the 1993 bombings, were designed to undercut Indian (INAUDIBLE), to damage India's financial system, because each bombing campaign that has been carried out in India has had a specific (INAUDIBLE).

For example, a few months ago the terrorists targeted Bangalore, which his India's (INAUDIBLE) center. And then, prior to that attack, there were attacks in Banaras and Arabia. These are two Hindu pilgrimage cities, and the idea was to foment Hindu-Muslim violence in India.

And (INAUDIBLE) Bombay 13 years after major terror attacks, the only purpose could be to, again, highlight the fact that even if India is rising economically, it's a country tormented internally. It's a country quite unsafe for -- for investors. In general, to scare away foreign investment from India.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Speaking there earlier with a counterterrorism expert on the line there from New Delhi.

As we continue our coverage of this amazing story, seven bombings, a highly coordinated terror attack on one of the busiest rail networks on all of India. At least 130 people have been killed, several hundred have been wounded.

Let's remember, this is Mumbai. And you speak of Bombay, many people remember it as that. It was renamed about 10 years or so ago. Now home to 17 million people.

This is one of the busiest rail networks, as I said, in the country. Nearly six million commuters use the local trains every single day. And they are often packed into -- into the carriages. One report we had, it was 4,700 passengers can be packed into a nine- car train, which is extraordinary.

CHURCH: And Michael, as we continue to cover this breaking news story out of Mumbai, we know, of course, that the rescue operations are under way, as we see these scenes of utter chaos. But the problem with is, of course, is monsoon rains are hampering any efforts by rescuers.

There's been a lot of criticism from those people on the scene for those problems. And also to security issues. A lot of people are saying there wasn't enough security. There were earlier reports of the possibility of even intelligence being available, that an attack could take place, but no time or place details were offered on that.

HOLMES: And, of course, the big question is, who was behind this? And there are numerous theories on that, from Kashmiri militants, to Islamic militants, to -- I mean, really, nobody knows for sure. But India is a country that has been troubled in the past by violence.

In 2003, there was a series of bombings right around India. In August, July, March, January of that year, dozens and dozens of people were killed.

CHURCH: And these seven blasts that took place were on the Western Rail link. And they were 10 minutes or so between each explosion.

We heard one reporter, someone who actually tried to push her way into one of the carriages, failed to do so. And then as the train pulled away, she watched that very same carriage explode. And those people inside -- obviously, well, we know what happened there.

And a lot of people jumping from the carriages to try and save themselves. We heard one reporter there who actually did save himself. And he was reporting on our sister station, CNN-IBN. Others, unfortunately, died in their effort to save themselves from any other possible blasts.

So, those seven blasts taking place nearly simultaneously, moving northwards up that Western Rail link.

HOLMES: This was a chaotic time, as you can imagine, happening during peak rush hour between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m. local time.

Let's have a listen now to a story that was put together by our sister network, CNN-IBN, that gives a timeline of how this all unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Five attacks in four hours. That's the morning residents of (INAUDIBLE) woke up to on Tuesday.

The first blast at Dal Gate at 11:40 a.m. The second on Residency Road at 12:10 p.m. (INAUDIBLE) was lobbed at (INAUDIBLE) in Lal Chowk (INAUDIBLE) 12:40 p.m. And five minutes later, a fourth blast at Regal Chowk at 1:20 p.m. And the fifth near the tourist reception center at 3:30 p.m.

The first blast came when a grenade was lobbed at a tourist and traveler in Dal Gate, killing five people and injuring 13 others. About 30 people were on board the fully-packed (INAUDIBLE) Kashmir state road transportation bus. All those killed, including three women, were from Calcutta.

Minutes later, another grenade explosion was reported in the busy commercial hub of Residency Road. A grenade was lobbed at a (INAUDIBLE) car with (INAUDIBLE) registration number. At least three people were injured in the attack.

The third blast targeted (INAUDIBLE), injuring five people. Two people are reported dead. Three children were injured when a grenade was thrown at a (INAUDIBLE) car near the (INAUDIBLE) shortly after. Two tourists and four civilians were injured in the fifth blast at the tourist reception center.

Chayi Ayir (ph), CNN-IBN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

Joining us now is Jensi Jacob (ph). Remember, Jensi (ph), as we've been saying was on the very train, two compartments...

HOLMES: All right. That was a report that was on -- earlier on CNN-IBN. It wasn't actually about the Mumbai bombs. This was actually earlier attacks that happened in Kashmir, in Shrenegar (ph), in fact, that killed eight or so people. Several of them tourists in the area. So this, obviously -- whether this is linked to the Mumbai attacks, it's not 100 percent certain at the moment.

Let's go back to CNN-IBN.

CNN-IBN going to a break now, so we'll continue our coverage from here at the CNN center. We were talking earlier about some of the incidents that have happened in India in just the last few years. Thirteen people were wounded in April of this year in two explosions that happened in Old Delhi. Also in March of this year, 28 dead, 100 injured in twin explosions. That was in Baranasi (ph), the temple town in India. October last year, 67 killed, 224 injured in Delhi markets on the eve of Diwali. And in July of 2005, five people were killed. It goes on and on. And 2002 a particularly bloody year as well. So it's been a very troubling time for India and violence that it faces.

Who is behind these attacks in Mumbai, what used to be known as Bombay, unknown at the moment. This is a country -- or a city, rather, of some 17 million people. It's one of the five most populated cities in the world, in fact. and it's a scene of utter carnage today on the western rail line, one of the busiest rail lines in the country.

Interestingly, Mumbai is also the headquarters for most Indian corporate companies. It's a financial center of India. It's also the home to Bollywood, in fact, the vibrant Hindi-language movie industry, and of course the country's biggest stock exchange located there as well. Many people migrate to Mumbai to try to seek out a living.

Let's go now to Rosemary -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Well, someone who can talk to us about what happened today as we've watched this unfold before our very eyes. Ram Ramgopal is with CNN.

Ram, you've actually spent many years working in Mumbai and of course traveling throughout India for CNN. What's your feeling as you watch this story unfold?

RAM RAMGOPAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, I mean, in fact, when I first got a call early this morning from a friend of mine, who was very close to one of the sites of those explosions, he sent me a message very shortly after that, and the first instinct that one gets is to pick up the phone and call, because this is an extremely railway line, perhaps one of the busiest in the world, carries millions of people every day. So the first thing you did was to pick up the phone and call and see if friends and family are OK, because that's the first reaction. Everybody uses that railway system.

Bombay, or Mumbai, as Michael's been pointing out, is a city that's well known to be really a resilient city. It's the a financial capital. People who basically work at the tip of the city, southernmost tip, on this very busy railway line. The rail way cars are crushed, really there's there's a crush load there of two or three times of what they're supposed to be carrying, hundreds of thousands of people using that line.

The very fact that these particular incidents appeared to have happened within a space of 30 minutes would certainly be a big shock, because that is the lifeline of the city.

CHURCH: Indeed. And what you've been saying -- because you've traveled on some of these trains, haven't you -- when we talked about a packed train, we don't have any understanding of what a packed train is. In India, that is a completely different concept. What sort of numbers do you think were traveling in some of these?

RAMGOPAL: Perhaps upwards of maybe close to maybe 3,000 people in each car. This is -- many of those carriages that were attacked were actually the first-class carriages, which tend to be slightly less crowded. But it's just really a question of degrees here, because a lot of people who are traveling in those trains do commute about 40 or 50 kilometers. If they miss the train, the next is equally crowded. So many people try to get onto the same train that they do every day. 6:00 in the evening, they had maybe about 3,000 people in each car at that point.

CHURCH: And something you may need to explain to some of our viewers, we've been seeing our sister network of CNN-IBN, talking about male compartments, this division of compartments. Do explain, too.

RAMGOPAL: Indeed. The railway cars tend to be separated. This has traditionally been the case, partly because of fears that women could be molested on some of these rail cars, and it's been historic division there. In the first-class compartment, in fact, one of them, maybe you heard about, is actually the same compartment, which is divided with a little barrier in between. So on one side, there would be men; the other side would be women.

But it's certainly, as I was saying, people who travel in that, are, you know, the entire population of the city, doesn't matter who you are, what you are. There are executives traveling on that train. There are people who work in day jobs. There are people who work on the streets who use the rail way line, because it's just such an easy way and efficient way of getting from end of the city to the other. But that is indeed correct, there are separate carriages for men and women.

CHURCH: And it would be interesting to think about these seven blasts, that went off 10 minutes or so apart. If they did target the first-class carriages, but also the ones that have the men in it. Does that indicate to you, has there been any other sort of targeting that's similar to that in the past?

RAMGOPAL: Certainly, the other experience -- and I can talk about that, because of having gone through that -- was in 1993 when those serial blasts went cross the city, which is the first time they really happened, 13 blasts. But those are all the sites of government buildings, perhaps symbolic targets in some ways. This is a very different message, obviously, that these people who carried out these blasts are trying to send, because it's targeting certainly the average commuter.

It's not the first time the railway system has been targeted, but certainly not on this scale, and certainly not in such a synchronized manner. The fact that it was the first-class compartment may have something to do with access, because if you had to get access to the compartment, you would need to be, obviously, a male to be able to get into the male compartment, because these are often watched quite closely. So it may have been somebody who just left it behind and then got off the train. It may have been in the yard, or at the marshalling yard. It's possible; that's another theory as well. But certainly from people I've been talking to today, there's certainly a deep sense of shock. Obviously this has disrupted the transport system. It's raining right now, so it's very hard for people to get home. The bus system would be under a great strain. So it obviously is something which sends an enormous shockwave through the city.

CHURCH: Indeed. And a lot of criticism directed at security. People were saying, witnesses that were spoken to by CNN-IBN, were suggesting that there was no security at these rail way stations, which is extraordinary considering this information that we've received, that there was a possibility that had intelligence indicated that there may very well be an attack.

RAMGOPAL: Well, this is routine, Rosemary. I mean, there are often instances, we have heard, even when we have covered stories out of Delhi when there was a bomb blast last year. There was information that there was intelligence, that there could have been an attack.

But the reality is that they -- it's very difficult to really keep watch in so many different stations across such a vast area. There are police constables on this platforms. They are often there to, you know, make sure that everything is OK. But it's one of those thing that is often -- there's a big gap, there's often a big --- there's a soft target here, which, you know, the commuters often pay the price because the bus system has been affected in the past, has been hit by these sorts of bombs. So I don't know if it's an entirely fair criticism that they were not being protected well enough. But it's certainly one of the issues obviously which will be looked at if there was specific intelligence.

CHURCH: And we're saying that this coverage of CNN-IBN, these constant references to the spirit of Mumbai, would you expect people to get back on those rail carriages, on those trains tomorrow? Is that the spirit of Mumbai?

RAMGOPAL: Well, traditionally, it has been, Rosemary. I mean, I can tell you in '93 after the bomb blast, I was a reporter then, so we were out on the streets going to the hospitals, going to the malls in some instances, and I have to say there was like this sort of fear, almost anger, but it was a very quiet anger. People want you to stay, we are not going to allow this to disrupt our lives. It wasn't a sort of random, riot-like situation (INAUDIBLE) specific attack. And a lot of people actually went out on to the streets, and they were donating blood. They were out in full force, and there were all of these vigilance groups set out in areas just to say that we are going to be prepared for any eventuality. In this particular instance, I'm not really sure what the mood is going to be. For one thing, it is really at the heart of that transport system. Everybody uses it.

CHURCH: And there aren't many other alternatives, I would suspect, if they're packed to that extent.

RAMGOPAL: That's right. There's almost no other alternatives. There's -- I mean, if you're rich enough, and you can bear that commute for about an hour an half or two hours out to the northern end of the city. It's possible some people do commute by road, but most actually tend to take this train.

CHURCH: All right. Ram Ramgopal, thank you so much for talking with us. Appreciate it.

HOLMES: All right. Let's update you now, what we know about this tragedy to this minute. Indian police telling us at CNN that at least 135 people are dead, more than 260 others injured, after seven explosions hit crowded commuter trains in Mumbai. These explosions hit in quick succession along the west side of Mumbai's railway during rush hour.

HOLMES: Welcome back, everyone, to YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CHURCH: Seen live in more than 200 countries across the globe. Welcome.

HOLMES: OK, let's update you on what's going on in India, terrible scenes of utter chaos in Mumbai, where seven near- simultaneous explosions have hit crowded commuter trains at rush hour.

CHURCH: Now police tell CNN at least 135 people are dead and more than 250 people are said to be injured.

HOLMES: These explosions hit in quick succession along the west side of Mumbai's railway about three-and-a half hours ago now.

CHURCH: The sheer force of those blasts blew at least one of the trains in half. And eyewitnesses said some passengers were killed jumping from the running trains, trying to save themselves.

Well, now to a new development on the legal status on detainees in U.S. military custody in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and all other locations. The Pentagon has just released a memo granting all prisoners privileges according the Geneva Convention.

CNN's Andrew Stevens spoke to Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr a short while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The deputy secretary of defense, a man named Gordon England (ph), has now issued a memo, we have been told that says, "For the first time, all al Qaeda detainees under U.S. military control around the world will get formal Geneva Convention protection under Article III."

Now to be clear, it is something that the Pentagon had always said it was in compliance with, but President Bush had not wanted to recognize al Qaeda, of all groups, as having legally, formally, that kind of Geneva Convention protection. Now that is happening.

And the initial indications are that not much will change. But what it will do is close any loophole that human rights activists believe exist in terms of treatment of those detainees. The Pentagon, of course, saying they had always received humane treatment, but many people felt there were loop halls in that. That memo now said to be closing any potential loop hole -- Andrew.

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Four years since Guantanamo is open, Barbara. Why now?

STARR: Well, by all indications, this is a result of that recent Supreme Court case involving a man named Hamdan. The Supreme Court, as you'll recall, a couple of weeks ago ruling that the commissions or trial process that the U.S. had set up for detainees at Guantanamo Bay was not in compliance with U.S. federal law.

This apparently, we are told, is part of the effort to come into line as much possible with that Supreme Court ruling.

But there certainly also is a political element here, Andrew. There is a major hearing on Capitol Hill in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee later today. This memo coming in advance of it is one of the things anticipated to try and make some of that criticism simply melt away. Remains to be seen whether it works. (END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right, the latest now on what has been a chaotic morning of carnage, or evening in India. We've seen these seven explosions almost simultaneously ripping apart commuter trains during the evening rush hour. Train compartments torn apart, body parts strewn across the tracks; 135 people, at last count, killed.

CHURCH: And we're watching rescue operations under way. We've been relying heavily on CNN-IBN. That's our the sister station, located in India. We're seeing the monsoonal rains hampering the rescue effort for those people who are still caught under the rubble as a rubble as a consequence of these seven near-simultaneous blasts. They went off about 10 minutes apart. They traveled northwards along the western rail way link in Mumbai, the financial district.

HOLMES: And it was between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m., these trains at this time we've been hearing from our sources and our staff would have been absolutely crammed; six million commuters use local trains in Mumbai every day. That's a city of 17 million people. And sometimes literally thousands, up to 4,500 are packed into nine-car trains during peak hours, which is just extraordinary to imagine how many people would have been crowded inside these trains.

CHURCH: Indeed. And we've extraordinary stories, too, of people just missing out getting inside those very crowded trains, and watching them explode as they move out of the station. Some people jumping too, from the train, some surviving. We heard from a reporter who survived. Others having been killed as a consequence of trying to save themselves.

I'm Rosemary Church.

HOLMES: I'm Michael Holmes. Thanks for watching.

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