The death toll in the Saturday Somalia truck bomb has risen to at least 300.
2 bombs went off in Somalian capital Mogadishu on Saturday, the first a huge truck bomb at K5 Junction, home to government offices and big hotels.
The second bomb went off 2 hours later in Medina district, according to ABC News.
The attack, described as a “natural disaster” by the Somalian Government, is the deadliest incident in Somalia’s modern history, and has been described as one of the deadliest attacks in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Abdikadir Abdirahman, the director of the city’s ambulance service said:
“We have confirmed 300 people died in the blast. The death toll will still be higher because some people are still missing” he told Reuters.
Aden Nur, a doctor at Medina hospital, said they were unable to identify 160 bodies, as they were burned beyond recognition.
He said they “were buried by the Government yesterday. The others were buried by their relatives. Over a hundred injured were also brought here.”
The Government says bodies are still being recovered, and the death toll is expected to rise. They have also called upon the public to come donate blood.
“I am appealing to all Somali people to come forward and donate,” Somalian President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed said, while declaring a 3-day mourning period.
Although the blast has been blamed on terrorist group Al-Shabaab, no one has claimed responsibility for the tragic incident.
See videos and photos from the blast below:
is-deciderHtmlWhitespace" cite="https://twitter.com/muniita_maanka/status/919190268586405888" data-tweet-id="919190268586405888" data-scribe="section:subject">
Just in : huge bomb blast at Zoobe Junction #mogadishu#somalia https://fb shaantii mehra
At least 200 people killed in #Mogadishu truck bomb blast http://aje.io/8jmal #Somalia
The place is zoobe in mogadisha after huge bomb blast at Zoobe Junction #mogadishu #somalia
Photo Credit: Karabo_Mokgoko, Boutaina