APA – An estimated 300 people have been injured and an unknown number have died in a series of explosions in Equatorial Guinea’s commercial hub, Bata, the health ministry says, APA reports citing BBC.
Images on social media showed a huge plume of smoke hanging over the city.
State television showed people looking for survivors in the rubble and lifting up blocks of collapsed buildings.
The cause of the explosions is unclear, but they came from an area near a military camp.
In a series of tweets, the health ministry asked for volunteer health workers to go to Bata Regional Hospital. It has also asked for blood donations due to the high number of casualties.
It listed three hospitals where the “seriously and very seriously injured” were being transferred.
Video posted on social media of the aftermath of the explosions showed a chaotic scene of distressed people fleeing as smoke drifted over the area.
In a tweet, France’s ambassador Olivier Brochenin sent his condolences to the victims, describing the event as a “catastrophe”.
