12 Injured As Explosion Hits Anambra Market

At least 12 people were injured in an explosion on Tuesday at Kara Market on Atani Road, Ogbaru near Onitsha in Anambra State. The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Ali Okechukwu, said yesterday in Ogbaru that the explosion was caused by fuel stored in a jerrycan. He said: “The explosion was not a bomb as being speculated by people.

A jerrycan of petrol that was brought to the settlement exploded around the area and some people sustained various degrees of burns. “They were taken to various hospitals and are currently receiving treatment. No death was recorded.”

Okechukwu said that police had taken control of the situation and advised people to stop panic buying and storage of fuel because of the danger such practice posed in the event of an explosion or fire incident. He said 11 people were injured.

However, a witness who is leader of the settlement, Mr. Sabo Mohammed, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the incident occurred about 8:30p.m. on Tuesday at a restaurant in the market. Mohammed alleged that the explosion might have been from a bomb brought into the market by an unknown person. He said: “An unidentified boy walked into a restaurant with three jerrycans demanding food and left almost immediately without eating the food, leaving the jerrycans behind.