Yola market blast death toll rises to 31

The death toll in the Thursday’s suicide bomb blast on Jimeta night market has risen to 31.

The Public Relations Officer of the Federal Medical Center, Yola, Mallam Muhammadu Dodo, told journalists that 31 corpses were evacuated from the scene of the blast.

He said 22 victims were currently on admission at the medical centre.

Dodo, however, urged the general public to come to the aid of the victims by donating blood as some of them were in dire need of blood.

The Chief Medical Director of Yola Specialists Hospital, Dr. Bala Saidu, said the dead among the victims had been transferred to the FMC, Yola.

He added that 44 persons, who were injured in the attack, were rushed to his hospital for treatment, saying 25 of them had been discharged while 19 victims were still undergoing treatment.

A member of the bomb squad that was involved in the rescue operations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told our correspondent on the telephone that no fewer than 40 persons were killed in the attack.

He said 35 corpses were evacuated on Friday morning while another five casualties were shattered by the blast beyond recognition.

Adamawa State Public Relations Officer, Othman Abubakar, said so far, the command had a record of 29 deaths, including the two suicide bombers, who launched the attacks.

On Friday, the police cordoned off the scene of the explosion and diverted traffic to adjoining streets as business activities in the area were paralised.

A resident of Yola, Ibrahim Tunoh, lamented that the scene of the blast, which used to be a beehive of commercial activities both in the day and night, had been adversely affected by police thorough checking.