More than a dozen people have been killed and hundreds wounded in a series of powerful explosions at a military base in Equatorial Guinea’s largest city of Bata, according to officials.
In a statement on national television, President Teodoro Obiang said the blasts on Sunday were caused by negligence of a military unit “in charge of storing explosives, dynamite and ammunition at the Nkoa Ntoma military camp”.
Obiang, who has ruled Equatorial Guinea since 1979, said the explosives caught fire due to “stubble-burning by farmers in their fields” and that the blasts caused damage in almost all the houses and buildings in Bata.
The defence ministry said at least 20 people were killed and some 600 people injured.
At least 20 killed and 600 wounded after huge explosions in Equatorial Guinea's city of Bata. The gov't says the blasts were caused by mishandling of dynamite at a military base. Read more: https://t.co/KSoXwUwmyc pic.twitter.com/zm1L5gPaCo
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 8, 2021
Read more…
Source: Al Jazeera News