Jehovah's Witness faithful and others wait outside the Zamra International Convention Center after an explosive device blew up during their prayer session in Kalamassery, a town in Kochi, southern Kerala state, India, Oct 29, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)
NEW DELHI - The death toll in the series of blasts at a convention center in the southern Indian state of Kerala has risen to three after a 12-year-old girl succumbed to her injuries at a hospital early Monday, officials said.
"A 12-year-old girl who was admitted to Ernakulam Medical College Hospital with 95 percent burns has succumbed, and with this, the death toll now stands at three," an official said.
The blasts went off Sunday morning during a prayer meeting at the Zamra International Convention Center in Kalamassery near Kochi city, about 206 km north of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala
Ganesh Mohan, medical superintendent of Government Medical College Hospital, Ernakulam was quoted in local media saying she was put on a ventilator after being admitted to the hospital on Sunday.
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The blasts went off Sunday morning during a prayer meeting at the Zamra International Convention Center in Kalamassery near Kochi city, about 206 km north of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala.
According to officials, over 50 people were injured in the blasts, some of them critically.
A 48-year-old man, identified as Dominic Martin, has claimed responsibility for the blasts and surrendered to police.
Local media reports quoted eyewitnesses as saying that the prayer meeting was attended by around 2,000 people.
Kerala Police Chief Shaik Darvesh Saheb said preliminary investigations showed an improvised explosive device was used in the blasts.
Videos from inside the convention center showed multiple fires inside the hall as people were heard screaming in fear. Fire tenders were quickly dispatched to the spot.
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India's anti-terror National Investigation Agency has rushed to the spot to probe the blasts.
