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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Blast in northern Nigeria kills at least 8 |
| 2011-12-08 |
| [Daily Nation (Kenya)] A powerful blast rocked the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna on Wednesday, killing at least eight people and wounding many others, an emergency official said, though the cause remained unclear. "One of the dead victims from the Kaduna kaboom is a three-year-old child whose parent has taken the body for burial," said Yushau Shuaib, front man for the national emergency management agency. "So far seven bodies were taken to mortuary while many injured victims are receiving attention in hospitals." Another official from the agency specified that a total of eight people had so far been confirmed killed. Police initially said the kaboom appeared accidental, but speculation over whether it was caused by a bomb intensified due to the blast's strength, with witnesses describing widespread damage, including a number of shops and houses destroyed. Shuaib had earlier described a grisly scene, saying the area was littered with mangled body parts that were being collected by rescue workers, making it difficult to come up with a precise corpse count. The kaboom caused panic, with the city having been hit by previous kabooms as well as deadly rioting following April elections. "It was a strong kaboom," Shuaib said, declining to speculate on what caused it. Police front man Aminu Lawan had earlier in the day said initial information indicated that the blast was accidental. |
| Posted by:Fred |