Misplaced Pages

2023 Mahé explosion

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Explosion in the Seychelles

2023 Mahé explosion
A building damaged due to the explosion
Date7 December 2023 (2023-12-07)
Time02:00 SCT (UTC+04:00)
LocationMahé, Seychelles
Coordinates04°39′27″S 55°29′07″E / 4.65750°S 55.48528°E / -4.65750; 55.48528
Non-fatal injuries178
A building destroyed due to the explosion

An explosion occurred on 7 December 2023 at an explosives depot on the island of Mahé in the Seychelles, south of the capital Victoria. The blast damaged numerous structures. The explosion took place during heavy flooding in Seychelles that killed three people; a state of emergency was declared following both events.

Background

Prior to the explosion, heavy rainfall in Seychelles caused extensive flooding that killed at least three people.

Explosion

According to a statement issued by the president's office, the explosion occurred at a "CCCL explosives store" and caused "massive damage to the Providence Industrial area and the surrounding areas,", located 7 kilometers southeast of the capital Victoria, with officials calling the area a "war zone".

The explosion was reported to have originated from four containers of explosives and had left a 13-meter deep crater. It also caused damage to Seychelles International Airport, four kilometers away, although the airport remained operational along with inter-island ferries. At least 178 people were injured, mostly suffering light injuries. Five people were hospitalized, with one of them in intensive care.

Response

President Wavel Ramkalawan ordered non-essential workers to remain at home, while schools were closed and hospitals remained open only for emergency cases. 202 residents in the worst-affected district of Cascade were evacuated due to serious damage to homes. A state of emergency was declared on 7 December following the explosion and floods, but was lifted within the day.

References

  1. ^ "Seychelles declares state of emergency after flood and explosion". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Seychelles declares state of emergency after huge explosion". BBC. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  3. Chetty, Emilie (7 December 2023). "Seychelles declares an emergency after deadly flooding and a blast at an explosives depot". Associated Press. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  4. Gretener, Jessie; Princewill, Nimi (7 December 2023). "Seychelles President issues state of emergency following explosion at explosives store". CNN. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Seychelles Starts Clean-up After Massive Blast, Floods". Barron's. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  6. "Dozens Injured In Seychelles Blast At Explosives Depot". Barron's. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
Categories: