8 people dead in car explosion near Red Fort in New Delhi

At least eight people were killed on Monday in a car explosion near the historic Red Fort in a densely populated area of the Indian capital of New Delhi, a police spokesperson said.

The exact cause of the blast — a rare event in the heavily guarded city of more than 30 million people — is being investigated, said police spokesperson Sanjay Tyagi. However, India's financial capital of Mumbai, as well as its most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, which borders Delhi, went on high security alert after the blast, local media reported.

At least 20 people were injured in the explosion, TV channels reported, as ambulances raced to the scene.

Mangled bodies and the wreckage of several cars could be seen on a congested street near a metro station in the old quarter of New Delhi, as police poured into the area to secure it and push back gathering crowds.

Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha said the blast took place minutes before 7 p.m. local time.

"A slow-moving vehicle stopped at a red light. An explosion happened in that vehicle, and due to the explosion, nearby vehicles were also damaged," he told reporters.

Federal and state investigative agencies are at the site and federal Home Minister Amit Shah has been briefed about the incident, Golcha added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to those who had lost loved ones.

"May the injured recover at the earliest. Those affected are being assisted by authorities," Modi posted on X, adding that he had reviewed the situation with Shah and other officials.

Other vehicles, rickshaws catch fire

At least six vehicles and three auto-rickshaws caught fire, Delhi's deputy fire chief said later, adding that the flames had been doused by firefighting teams.

"I was at the metro station, going down the stairs, when I heard an explosion. I turned around and saw a fire. People started running helter-skelter," Suman Mishra, whose husband owns a hotel in a nearby area, told Reuters.

About 30 to 40 ambulances were near the site of the blast and the entire area was cordoned off after the fire was put out, a Reuters witness said, adding that he could see remains of mangled cars and crowds milling around.

The Red Fort, known locally as Lal Qila, is a sprawling, 17th-century Mughal-era edifice melding Persian and Indian architectural styles, and is visited by tourists throughout the year.

The prime minister addresses the nation from the fort's ramparts every year on Aug. 15, India's independence day.

Delhi was the target of blasts during the 1980s and 1990s, with public places such as bus stations and crowded market areas hit in attacks blamed on Islamist militants or on separatists from the northern Sikh state of Punjab.

About a dozen people were killed in a briefcase explosion outside the Delhi High Court in 2011 — the last such major incident in the city.