98 dead, 615 injured in explosions in Equatorial Guinea's largest city
Xinhua
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YAOUNDE, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Ninety-eight people were killed and 615 others injured in explosions caused by accidents in Equatorial Guinean's largest city of Bata, tweeted the country's health ministry on Monday, quoting Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue.

Volunteers searched the rubble for bodies on Monday. (Photo: Agencies)

Of those injured, 316 were discharged, while 299 remain under medical care in three local hospitals, the ministry said.

Explosive warehouses at the Nkoantoma military camp in Bata caught fire following a nearby farm fire, causing successive explosions on Sunday afternoon, according to a statement from the presidency of Equatorial Guinea published on Sunday evening.

Following the accident, health authorities called on people to donate blood and encouraged volunteer health workers to help. The Chinese medical mission in Equatorial Guinea, a branch of which is based in Bata, helped rescue the victims and donated medical equipment, Chinese embassy tweeted on Monday evening.

As of Monday, the explosion sites are out of danger, and the explosives neutralized, according to the local news site ahoraeg.com.

Located on the mainland part of Equatorial Guinea, Bata is the country's most populous city.