Woman succumbs to injuries, toll in Varanasi blast climbs to 2

VARANASI: A 60-year-old woman, who was critically injured in the blast here on Tuesday succumbed to injuries today, taking the toll in the incident to two.

The woman, Phoolrani, was among the 37 injured in the blast that took place between the Dashashwamedh and Shitla ghats when the evening 'aarti' was on.

BHU Hospital ICU head D K Singh said Phoolrani had sustained serious head injuries and had lost a lot of blood. She was also operated upon but her condition continued to be serious.

Phoolrani, who hailed from Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh, had come to the city to meet her son who is studying in a Sanskrit college here.

The blast had claimed the life of 11-month-old girl Swastika Sharma.

An explosive expert from Gujarat had yesterday examined the blast site at Dashashwamedha ghat here and collected samples.

A terror email claiming responsibility for the blast was traced to Mumbai.