At least nine killed in gas tanker explosion in Baghdad

No less than 9 folks killed and 13 injured after a fuel tanker explodes in an accident within the Iraqi capital, say safety forces.

A fuel tanker has exploded within the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, killing a minimum of 9 folks and injuring a number of others, safety forces stated.

The explosion, which was heard throughout a lot of Baghdad, occurred close to a soccer area in an jap a part of town on Saturday night time and despatched shrapnel into residential buildings and into the pitch.

“9 civilians had been killed and 13 injured” when the tanker exploded, the commander of safety forces in Baghdad, Ahmad Salim, stated in an announcement.

“The explosion is an accident and never an act of terrorism,” he added.

A lot of the victims had been amateurs enjoying soccer of their neighbourhood stadium, the Reuters information company reported.

Medical sources gave a better casualty toll to the AFP information company, with one saying 12 folks had been killed.

An AFP correspondent stated the home windows of close by buildings had been blown out and autos within the space had been broken.

“We had been at dwelling and felt a really robust blast and a odor of fuel,” resident Mohammed Aziz, who lives simply 100 metres (330 ft) from the blast web site, informed AFP.

“It felt like we had been suffocating,” he added. “Our doorways and home windows had been blown out.”

Iraq’s recently-elected president, Abdul Latif Rashid, promised there could be an investigation to establish these liable for the accident.

Security requirements within the transport and building sector are steadily flouted in Iraq, and accidents are a standard prevalence.

In April 2021, greater than 80 folks died in a hospital hearth in Baghdad, after badly saved oxygen bottles exploded.