New Delhi - At least 40 people were injured as serial explosions ripped through three busy market areas in the Indian capital New Delhi on Saturday, officials and news reports said.

The blasts took place in the city's crowded Ghaffar Market, Connaught Place and Greater Kailash areas beginning at 6.15 pm local time.

There were no reports of any fatalities. The police have not confirmed whether the explosions were terrorist strikes.

At least 20 people were injured in the blast at Ghaffar market and were taken to the nearby Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, the PTI news agency reported.

Two explosions took place in the Connaught Place area, including at a Central Park and one near a metro station, in which at least 10 people were injured, the report said.

The fourth blast occurred in the Greater Kailash market.

The blasts took place in busy areas that are crowded with shoppers on the weekend. Police immediately evacuated the areas and cordoned off the markets.

"I have been informed that there are blasts. I appeal to people not to panic," Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit told the CNN-IBN network.

Witnesses said they could hear deafening blasts, while television footage showed panic-stricken shoppers, shattered window-panes and mangled vehicles at the scene.

"It was a loud blast and the earth beneath our feet trembled. There were dense smoke all around. I could see some people were taken on ambulances," a witness at Connaught Place said.

In May and July, over 119 lives were lost in two major terrorist attacks targeting the northern tourist city Jaipur and the western commercial hub of Ahmedabad.

Both the terrorist strikes were multiple bombings, which Indian security agencies blamed on Muslim militant groups including the banned Students Islamic Movement of India. (dpa)