Twenty seven people, including nine children, were injured in four successive bomb attacks that took place on Friday in the city of Dnepropetrovsk, eastern Ukraine, the emergencies ministry said, according to RIA Novosti.

According to other sources, there were 10 explosions.

Between three and seven people were hurt when an unidentified explosive device went off at a tram stop in central Dnepropetrovsk. The second blast came about an hour later outside a cinema, injuring seven. The third explosion took place near a railway terminal and the fourth in a public park. Several people were hospitalized with fragmentation wounds.

The traffic in the central part of the city has been brought to a standstill.

The Komsomolskaya Pravda v Ukraine daily said there were rumors that several people were killed, but the rumors have not been officially confirmed.

It also said city residents are in a panic.

“Nobody knows where to run, where to hide. People are trying to leave their offices and go home but police are forcing them back into the buildings,” it said.

The RBK-Ukraina agency reported disruptions in mobile communication services. All of the explosive devices were placed in garbage bins.

A criminal case has been opened under a “terrorism” statute, the Prosecutor General’s Office press secretary Margarita Velkova said.

Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has ordered the interior minister to head the investigation into the bombings.

Similar terrorist attacks took place in the city last fall.