Turkish authorities have said that at least six people have been killed and 81 wounded as an explosion, believed to be carried out by a woman, rocked the busy area of central Istanbul.
According to local authorities, the explosion happened at about 16:20 local time (13:20 GMT) in the Taksim Square area.
Police senior officials said the blast could be a terrorist attack carried out by a woman.
The presiden Tayyip Erdogan said the perpetrators would not be allowed to go unpunished.
Speaking at a news conference in Istanbul, he said the smell of terror of the ‘vile attack’ was in the air.
According to media reports, police cordonned off the area afterwards.
Helicopters could be seen hovering overhead as ambulances rushed injured and dead to the hospitals.
In their doorways on the normally bustling street, for shopkeepers the blast came as a shock.
“I saw people running in panic after the blast. The noise was so strong and deafening,” an eyewitness told NT.
The street – one of the city’s main arteries which is usually packed with shoppers – was previously targeted by a suicide bomber in 2016.