Kerala blast: Amit Shah speaks to Kerala CM; NSG, NIA teams being sent

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday spoke to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and took stock of the situation following a blast at a convention centre of a Christian group in Kochi, sources said.

Teams of the anti-terror force National Security Guard (NSG) and anti-terror probe agency National Investigation Agency (NIA) are being sent to Kerala following a directive of the home minister to assist the state government.

"The home minister spoke to the Kerala chief minister to take stock of the situation after the blast. The chief minister briefed the home minister about the incident," a source said.

Thirty-six people were injured and one woman died in the blast at a convention centre of a Christian religious group in Kalamassery in Kochi on Sunday morning, the Ernakulam District Collector said.

The Collector N S K Umesh said of the injured, 10 people were admitted to the burns unit of the Kalamassery Medical College and of them two, suffering from over 50 per cent burns, have been shifted to another hospital.

Besides that, eight people were admitted in the general ward of the medical college and the remaining 18 were under observation in various other hospitals, he told reporters here.

He also said the identity of the woman who died in the incident is not yet known. People who were present at the convention centre told reporters that the blast occurred in the middle of a prayer.