Lumbini Park is located near the state Secretariat and today thousands of people had gathered there in order to watch a laser show off the Hussain Sagar Lake. The blast occurred at 1930 hrs IST. The Gokul chaat shop blast took place at 1935 IST.

At least 22 people died in the blasts and several others were injured. The injured were admitted to Medicity Hospital in the city. Additional Commissioner of Police Uma Maheswari Rao spoke to CNN-IBN television news channel and said initial investigations had shown that explosive material was used in the Lumbini explosion.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has condemned the blasts and has asked people to maintain calm. Meanwhile Chief Minister YSR Reddy has called for an emergency meeting of his cabinet to assess the situation.

Hyderabad was also the place of an attack on the historic Mecca Masjid in May. That blast, which took place during the Friday prayers, killed at least 12 people and injured many others.

Following these twin blasts, the city is on red alert and police have cordoned off the area around the blast sites.