The death toll of a massive blast and fire at an ammunition plant in south Yemen that was looted by al-Qaeda has risen to 150, a local official said on Tuesday.
The final toll for Monday’s explosion at the plant near the town of Jaar has reached “150 dead and at least 80 wounded”, Ahmed Ghaleb Rahawi, sub-prefect of Jaar in the southern province of Abyan where the blast took place, said.
“When the residents entered the plant, there were some workers there who … did not warn them of the dangers,” said Rahawi.
“The flames spread out over 500m,” he added, warning local residents that the situation was still unstable and other weapons stores could also explode.
Another local government official, Mohsen Salem, said the death toll of 150 was based on the number of bodies recovered and on people reported as missing.
“Ninety-five bodies have been identified while many others were burnt” beyond recognition, Salem said, adding that the casualties were from five nearby villages.
Explosive powder
Officials have said explosions and a huge fire engulfed the factory as the villagers were inside helping themselves to remaining ammunition and guns left behind after a raid on the plant by suspected al-Qaeda fighters on Sunday.
The blasts were triggered by explosive powder left behind by the militants, according to an unnamed official quoted on Monday on the defence ministry’s 26sep.net website.
With the district falling into the hands of al-Qaeda on Sunday, about 30 armed and hooded gunmen looted the factory and made off in four vehicles with cases of weapons, witnesses said.
The incident, two months into a nationwide revolt against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, came as a security official said suspected al-Qaeda militants had seized control of Jaar and surrounding villages.
Lawless regions of south Yemen have turned into a base of operations for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the network’s franchise in the Arab world’s poorest nation, next door to oil-rich Saudi Arabia. — AFP