Chaos and panic in Istanbul
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A woman flees the scene of one of the explosions.
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ISTANBUL, Turkey (CNN) -- Witnesses in the Turkish city of Istanbul have been describing scenes of chaos and panic following a series of explosions.
One of the targets was the British consulate. One witness told CNN Turk a brown van drove into the consulate building. "The walls of the British consulate collapsed," he said.
English teacher Chris Kitrinos, who was in a school near the consulate, told CNN: "There was a huge noise, the windows were blown out. It was very chaotic. People were panicking.
"The scene is complete chaos, the street is full of smoke. People are running and screaming.
"Civilians are carrying people away from the scene. There is debris and bodies around."
One witness was traveling on a bus near HSBC when the explosion occurred.
"I thought somebody hit our bus from the back, then I saw black smoke rising. Cars were damaged all around us. I saw the charred body of a driver at the wheel," a sobbing Mehmet Altan told The Associated Press.
"After the blast the bus doors got stuck and passengers broke the windows to get out. There were pieces of flesh spread all around," bus driver Necati Erkek said.
Another witness, Hakan Kozan, 29, who was close to the British consulate at the time of the explosion, said a white pickup truck was responsible for the blast.
"I heard a slam on the brakes and 10 seconds later the explosion came," Kozan told AP.
Mehmet Celik, who was slightly injured in the attack, said a light brown pickup truck "exploded in front of the HSBC headquarters."
Suleyman Karatas, an HSBC staffer, said there was "a bloodbath after the explosion," according to the Anatolia news agency. He said a number of 600 staffers of the bank were wounded.
Anglican priest Ian Sherwood described the blast as a "huge bomb," saying: "I was in my house down the street, my house shook. The whole neighborhood has been damaged."
CNN Turk showing pictures of people trying to remove debris with their hands outside the British consulate.
Pictures from the scene of the other blast in the city's main business district showed the wreckage of the HSBC building, burnt-out cars, glass and debris.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
