Damaturu Bomb Blast Update: 21 Die, 27 Wounded [PICTURE]

Local residents said the bomb appeared to have been hidden in a motorised rickshaw outside the venue, where crowds had gathered to watch tournament hosts Brazil play Mexico on large screens. 

Latest reports said no fewer than 21 people have died in the latest bomb attack at a TV viewing centre, in Damaturu, capital of Yobe state, north east Nigeria.

Several pick-up trucks carrying bodies arrived at the Sani Abacha Specialist hospital in northeast Nigeria, hospital sources said Tuesday night, after an explosion ripped through the TV centre where football fans had gathered to watch a World Cup match.

The attack was believed to have been carried out by Boko Haram insurgents.

“We received 21 dead bodies and 27 injured victims from the blast,” said the source at the Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital after the explosion in the Nayi-Nama area of the city on Tuesday night.

The blast was the latest in a series at football viewing centres in Nigeria blamed on Boko Haram militants, who have been waging a deadly insurgency in the country’s north since 2009.

Football is Nigeria’s national sport and has a fanatical following but recent blasts targeting fans in northeastern Adamawa and the central state of Plateau have seen the authorities close big screen venues on security grounds.

The World Cup would normally have seen large crowds congregate to watch the matches, including those of Nigeria’s national team, the “Super Eagles”, but many fans have opted to stay at home for their own safety.

Adamawa and Yobe, of which Damaturu is the capital, have both been under a state of emergency since May last year to try to curb the violence, so far with little success. Borno, which sandwiches the two states, is also under special powers.

The hospital source, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said soldiers and police brought in the dead and injured from the scene of the blast, which was quickly cordoned off.

“The victims are young men and children. They have burns, ruptured tissue and bone fractures.”

There was no immediate comment from the Yobe state police or emergency relief agencies.