625 people were injured in the co-ordinated attacks. Hours after the blasts, rescuers continued to hunt through the wreckage for victims at several locations.

Mumbai police Chief A. N. Roy said the eight blasts were caused by bombs, possibly high-powered plastic explosives, that were detonated at seven separate locations within 30 minutes. Two blasts occurred at one location.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh vowed to defeat the "evil designs of terrorists."

The first blast struck about 6:25 p.m. local time during the peak of the evening rush hour in the western port city formerly known as Bombay.

Some of the explosions occurred on moving trains and there are reports that some passengers jumped out.

Search for survivors

Video from Mumbai's Mahim Station showed a rail car with its sides blasted out as people scrambled through the wreckage searching for survivors.

The footage showed bleeding and dazed passengers crowding on a platform under heavy monsoon rains. One passenger was shown lying motionless on the tracks.

The attacks took place on Mumbai's Western Railway near the areas of Jogeshwari, Borivili, Mahim, Khar, Matunga, Santa Cruz and Bhayander, the BBC reported. Two explosions happened at train stations while the others took place on moving trains.

Rail services on the line were suspended for several hours but are "limping back to life," Global Radio News reporter Arun Asthana told CBC News

Hospitals around the blast locations were filled with victims, and ambulances and emergency vehicles are causing chaos on the roads, reporter Gouri Shah with Mumbai's Daily News and Analysis told CBC News.

Commuters who depend on the trains are hitching rides with drivers as they try to find other ways to get home, Shah said.

Indian PM calls for calm

People stand outside a train coach that was destroyed in a bomb blast. (Press Trust of India/AP)(See pic )

Mumbai's commuter rail line, which carries more than six million passengers each day, is among the most crowded rail systems in the world.

Singh called the explosions a "shocking and cowardly attempt to spread a feeling of hatred" and convened cabinet for an emergency session.

"We will work to defeat the evil designs of terrorists and will not allow them to succeed," the prime minister said in a statement. "I urge the people to remain calm, not to believe rumours and carry on their activity normally.

"I condemn these shameful acts aimed at our peace-loving people."

Appearing on television, Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil said the government had information an attack was in the works, but didn't know where or when it would happen.

All of India's major cities went on high alert following the attacks, which came hours after Islamist militants launched a series of grenade attacks that killed eight people. The worst attack came in Srinagar, the summer capital of India's part of Kashmir.

Islamic separatists fighting for an independent Kashmir state have carried out attacks on Indian targets for the past 14 years. India has accused neighbouring Pakistan of supporting Kashmiri militants, a charge Islamabad denies.

Rail services were suspended for hours on the city's commuter rail lines, which usually carry more than six million passengers each day.

'Loss of innocent lives'

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry quickly issued a statement on behalf of President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

"The president and prime minister of Pakistan have also strongly condemned this terrorist attack and have expressed condolences over the loss of innocent lives," the statement said.

In 2003, a bomb blast on a Mumbai train killed 11 people and injured 65. The explosion happened the day after the 10th anniversary of multiple bomb explosions in the city killed 257 people and injured more than 1,000.

Mumbai is India's financial capital, home to the Bombay Stock Exchange, the corporate headquarters of many Indian companies and is the centre of the country's famed film industry, Bollywood.

The city's name was officially changed to Mumbai from Bombay in 1995.

With files from the Associated Press