30 killed in blasts at Ankara train station

Explosions hit Ankara train station Saturday morning leaving 30 people dead and 126 injured, Turkey’s interior ministry said.

The ministry confirmed that two separate blasts ripped through crowds of people who had gathered to attend a lunchtime peace rally nearby.

Bodies lay in front of the station on Hipodrum Street and paramedics tended to the injured as a police helicopter circled overhead.

Protest banners and flags littered the ground and members of the public helped carry the injured to ambulances and buses to take them to hospital.

A video on social media showed a ring of young people dancing and singing before an orange blast erupted in the background.

Emergency services had raced to the scene following the explosions at 10.05 a.m. local time (0705GMT).

Many people had gathered outside the station for a demonstration to be held in nearby Sihhiye Square. The rally, organized by the Confederation of Public Sector Trades' Unions (KESK), was to call for an end to the renewed conflict between the terrorist organization PKK and the Turkish state.

Eye witnesses said there were two consecutive blasts within seconds and there was an unconfirmed report that at least one suicide bomber was responsible.

The attack was carried out before the crowd reached Sihhiye Square, where police had established a security cordon.

In a statement, Ankara’s chief public prosecutor said an investigation was underway with five prosecutors taking charge.

The blast occurred amid renewed violence between the PKK and the Turkish state. Turkey is preparing for a general election on Nov. 1 to break the political deadlock that resulted from June's election, which was marred by violence including a bomb attack on a Peoples' Democratic Party rally that killed four people.