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By Correspondent.
(C) Blueprint.
An explosion at the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) in Kaduna on Saturday claimed two lives, including that of a military officer, and left four other workers critically injured.
The Reporters gathered that the incident, which occurred during the production of gunpowder at the factory in Kurmin Gwari area of the city, sent shockwaves through surrounding communities.
Residents said the blast was so powerful that it shook nearby buildings, sparking panic as people rushed out of their homes in fear.
Eyewitnesses told Blueprint.ng that the explosion happened while some staff were on a weekend shift.
“It was from the production of gunpowders, what they call primer powder. The explosion killed a military officer instantly and one civilian staff. Four others were critically injured,” a source said.
The injured workers were initially rushed to St. Gerard Catholic Hospital, Kakuri,about two kilometres from the factory,before military ambulances later transferred them to the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital in Kaduna.
At St. Gerard, relatives and colleagues of the victims were seen weeping as sympathisers trooped into the hospital premises.
A resident of Kurmin Gwari said: “The sound was deafening, and it shook the buildings around DICON. People started running, thinking it was a bomb, before we learnt it happened inside the factory.”
As at the time of filing this report, efforts to obtain a reaction from DICON management were unsuccessful.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
