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At least six people have been killed and 81 wounded in an explosion in a busy area of central Istanbul, Turkish authorities have said.<\/p>\n
The blast happened at about 16:20 local time (13:20 GMT) on a shopping street in the Taksim Square area, the Turkish city’s governor Ali Yerlikaya said.<\/p>\n
Vice-President Fuat Oktay said the blast was thought to be a terrorist attack carried out by a woman.<\/p>\n
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the perpetrators would be punished.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a news conference in Istanbul, he condemned what he called the “vile attack” and said “the smell of terror” was in the air.<\/p>\n
BBC correspondent Orla Guerin, who is in the area, said there was a heavy police presence around Istiklal Street, which had been cordoned off. Helicopters were circling overhead as ambulances went back and forth.<\/p>\n
Many shopkeepers standing in their doorways on the normally bustling street looked stunned, she said, adding that the incident will have come as a shock to many in the city.<\/p>\n
A woman who was in an internet cafe on Istiklal Street when the blast took place said there was a scene of “frenzy” following the explosion.<\/p>\n
“I saw wounded people rolling around, there was a woman carrying her dog,” she told the BBC.<\/p>\n
“People were running in panic… There was black smoke. The noise was so strong, almost deafening,” another eyewitness, Cemal Denizci, told AFP.<\/p>\n
The street – one of the city’s main arteries which is usually packed with shoppers – was previously targeted by a suicide bomber in 2016.<\/p>\n