At least 15 persons were killed and over 200 injured on Saturday evening in explosions set off simultaneously in four crowded cinema halls in Bangladesh's Mymensingh district.

Police said the explosions occurred at the cinema houses when they were packed to capacity on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.

One of the explosions occurred when people were leaving a cinema hall after the evening show and the rest when the shows were on. None has so far claimed responsibility for the blasts.

Firefighters and police surrounded the theatres and prevented people from going inside to search for their friends and relatives.

Hundreds of relatives gathered outside hospitals to know about the condition of the victims even as hospital authorities appealed for blood donations to treat the injured.

More reports from Bangladesh