Africa
7 years ago

At least 230 dead in Somalia blasts

There are fears people are trapped under the rubble. – Reuters photo
There are fears people are trapped under the rubble. – Reuters photo

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A massive bomb attack in a busy area of the Somali capital Mogadishu has killed at least 230 people, officials say, reports BBC.

Dozens more were wounded when a lorry packed with explosives detonated near the entrance of a hotel.

Police say two people were killed in a second bomb attack in the Madina district of the city.

It is not clear who staged the attacks. Mogadishu is a regular target for the al-Qaeda linked al-Shabab group, which is battling the government.

President Mohamed Abdullahi ‘Farmajo’ Mohamed has declared three days of mourning for the victims of the blast.

Local media reported families were gathering in the area on Sunday morning, looking for missing loved ones amidst the ruins of one of the largest bombs ever to strike the city.

After the first blast, police captain Mohamed Hussein told ,"It was a truck bomb. There are casualties but we do not know the exact amount as the scene is still burning."

Witnesses told the BBC they believed dozens of people were dead.

A BBC Somali reporter at the scene of the main blast said the Safari Hotel had collapsed, with people trapped under the rubble.

Meanwhile, the director of the Madina Hospital, Mohamed Yusuf Hassan, said he was shocked by the scale of the attack.

"Seventy two wounded people were admitted to the hospital and 25 of them are in very serious condition. Others lost their hands and legs at the scene.

"What happened yesterday was incredible, I have never seen such a thing before, and countless people lost their lives. Corpses were burned beyond recognition."

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