For hundreds of faithful gathered at the historic Mecca Masjid, it turned out to be a Black Friday.
“ I was offering prayer when I heard a huge explosion. Initially, I thought it could be a cracker but I soon realized it was a bomb blast,” Rasheed Ahmed, a tourist from Maharashtra, said.
Ahmed, who is undergoing treatment for his injuries at Osmania General Hospital, was among nearly 6,000 people who were offering afternoon prayers at the 400-year-old mosque when the tragedy struck.
Blood spilled over the “wazu khana” (water tank), where Muslims perform ablution before offering prayers, as the crude bomb went off at 1:20 pm. Pieces of human flesh, slippers and caps were strewn around the blast site.
The police, who arrived at the spot minutes after the explosion, had to face the wrath of the people who went berserk attacking buses, petrol bunks and other public properties.
As the incident triggered frayed tempers and spontaneous demonstrations, tension prevailed in Old city areas including Charminar, Moghulpura, Lal Darwaza, Gowlipura and Mehdipatnam.
“When the Friday prayers were about to conclude, we heard a big sound. Initially, we thought it was a tyre burst outside. However, soon we soon realized that it was a bomb explosion,” Aijaz Ahmed said.

Pigeons were aflutter
Hyderabad, Agencies: Hundreds of pigeons that live in the huge minarets of the 17th century Mecca Masjid fluttered away in panic as the blasts shattered the peace in the mosque during Friday prayers.
This nearly four-century-old mosque is a haven for pigeons that flock the area in droves but have never seen this kind of chaos.
The pigeons are fed every morning and evening by dozens of Hindus and Muslims near the “Wazu Khana” or water tank where a bomb blast killed six people. These pigeons have become so familiar with some Hindu traders who come to feed them that they sit on their hands and heads to eat the grain.
The scene of pigeons flying away in terror was captured on camera by a crew of a Telugu television channel present in the mosque premises to film the Friday prayers for a programme. A cameraman, present on the other side of the mosque, was shooting the prayers scene when the blast occurred at around 1:30 pm.
The bomb was kept under a stone bench and its pieces flew around. The area was soaked in blood and human body parts were strewn around. Heart-rending scenes were witnessed at the Osmania Hospital where the injured were taken. Four children, aged seven to 12, were among the 35 injured. Chaos prevailed in the overcrowded emergency wards and corridors of the hospital as hundreds jostled with one another to look for near and dear ones.
The injured children were crying in pain calling out for their mothers and fathers.
The doctors and hospital staff had a hard time attending to the injured in the presence of a large number of people.