The bomb believed to have been hidden on a baggage rack in the fifth compartment of the Panadura bound power set originating from Maradana at 4.25 pm went off as the train started to move after its stop at the Dehiwela railway station around 4.55 pm.

"Extensive damage caused to the roof of the carriage suggests the bomb had been on a baggage rack," a senior police officer told The Island adding that the police believed the LTTE had targeted civilians in retaliation for the defeat the outfit was facing on in the northern theatre of war. The blast also damaged the compartments on either side.

The injured were rushed to the Colombo South Teaching Hospital. Hospital Director Dr. Wilfred Kumarasiri said 62 persons had been admitted and the condition of some of them was serious.

Train services on the southern coastal line resumed after a brief suspension, the Railway Control Room said.

The police and security forces cordoned off the areas but no arrests had been made by the time this edition went to press.