A patrol from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was attacked at dawn in the state of Chhattisgarh and when reinforcements rushed to the scene they were surrounded by hundreds of heavily-armed rebels. In a hail of automatic gunfire and landmine explosions, 75 officers were killed, seven were injured and a heavily armoured anti-mine vehicle sent to retrieve the wounded was blown up, government officials and police told AFP. Home Minister P. Chidambaram expressed shock at the bloodbath and said the men had "walked into a trap."