A series of explosions on Sunday in Equatorial Guinea is now known to have killed 31 people, officials say. The number of those injured rose to 600.
The blasts hit a military base in the country’s main city, Bata. Officials blame badly stored dynamite along with stubble burning by nearby farmers. Almost all buildings and homes in the city suffered “huge damage”, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema said.
Three young children have been rescued as survivors scour the rubble. They were taken to hospital, state TV said.
There are fears the death toll could rise further as some victims may still be trapped. He said the base “caught fire due to neighbouring farmers clearing farming land by setting it alight, leading to the explosion”. The president called for international aid.
In a series of tweets, the health ministry called for volunteer health workers to go to Bata Regional Hospital and for urgent blood donations. The ministry said mental health teams were also being deployed to help victims. Some hospitals have been overwhelmed by the number of patients admitted, state TV reported. It broadcast images of wounded people lying on the floor of a crowded hospital
One resident told AFP news agency: “We haven’t slept all night. The houses were burning all night long and we kept hearing small explosions.”
Another described how his uncle had found the burned bodies of five members of his family.
The only opposition party, the CPDS, described the blasts as “the greatest humanitarian catastrophe in the history of Equatorial Guinea” and called on Spain, France and the United States to send aid, including rescue teams, medical staff and medicines.
The Spanish embassy said its nationals should remain at home and issued a series of emergency numbers.
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May God give the families affected the fortitude to bear the loss..