A total of 34 persons have died after an explosion rocked Cotonou, Benin Republic.
This was confirmed to journalists by a government official on Saturday.
According to the official, the explosion and the resultant casualties happened when a contraband fuel dump burst into flames in southern Benin, near the border with Nigeria.
“A serious fire occurred in the town of Seme Podji,” interior minister, Alassane Seidou, told reporters.
“Unfortunately we have 34 deaths including two babies. Their bodies are charred because the cause of the fire is smuggled fuel.”
Twenty (20) other persons, the minister disclosed, were being treated in hospitals including those who sustained serious bodily injuries.
