18 wounded in blast inside bus station in Indian-controlled Kashmir

SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, March 7 (Xinhua) -- At least 18 people were wounded Thursday in a BLAST that went off inside a busy bus station in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said.

The BLAST took place at the main bus station in Jammu city, the winter capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"A mysterious BLAST went off at bus station here today in which 18 people were wounded," a police official at police control room Jammu told Xinhua. "The wounded persons have been removed to Government Medical College hospital, where the condition of one of them was stated to be critical."

Following the BLAST police contingents rushed to the spot to ascertain the cause of the BLAST.

"It is too early to say what caused BLAST," a senior police official on the spot said. "We have asked the forensic teams to arrive and collect the samples, then only we can comment on the nature of BLAST."

Unconfirmed reports, however, said it was a grenade BLAST.

The BLAST triggered panic at the bus station that often remains crowded.

"I heard the BLAST and then heard people shouting," said Amit Sharma, a local shopkeeper. "When I rushed outside I saw injured being helped."