An explosion tore through a busy shopping street in Turkey's Istanbul, killing six and wounding dozens on Sunday. A widely shared video on social media showed the exact moment when the blast occurred.
In the footage, many people were seen walking on the famous Istiklal shopping street when suddenly a loud bang can be heard. It was accompanied by flames and immediately triggered panic, with people running in all directions.
"When I heard the explosion, I was petrified, people froze, looking at each other. Then people started running away. What else can you do," said Mehmet Akus, 45, a worker in a restaurant on Istiklal.
Another eyewitness recalled the aftermath of the blast.
"After the explosion, there was black smoke and the noise was so strong that it was almost deafening," the eyewitness told the news agency AFP.
Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the "vile attack", and said, "the relevant units of the state are working to find the perpetrators." Turkey's Vice President said a suicide bomber carried out the attack.
The cause of the explosion, which took place at 6:30 pm IST, is still unknown. The shopping street is popular with tourists and locals.
The Istiklal avenue was affected during a series of attacks targeting Istanbul in 2015-2016, which was claimed by the terror group Islamic State. The attacks killed nearly 500 people and over 2,000 were injured.
With inputs from news agency AFP, Reuters
