At least six persons died and more than 80 in a bomb explosion on Sunday evening on the Istiklal Street – a busy thoroughfare – in the Turkish city of Istanbul, state-run news agency Anadolu reported.

On Monday morning, the person who had allegedly left the bomb at the explosion site was arrested by the police, Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said.

On Sunday, emergency services were called to the site soon after the blast took place at 4.20 pm local time (6.50 pm Indian Standard Time). The area had been cordoned off.

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay had described the explosion as a terrorist act, adding that a woman had detonated the bomb.

In a video of the time of the explosion, hundreds of pedestrians are seen at the Istiklal Street, who start to run away after hearing the sound of the blast. The area, which falls in the central district of Beyoglu, is frequented by foreign tourists.

Addressing a press conference, President Tayyip Erdogan said: “Efforts to defeat Turkey and the Turkish people through terrorism will fail today just as they did yesterday and as they will tomorrow.”