More than 400 were injured and many disappeared under the rubble, the ministry said after the big explosions on Sunday.
Resident Carmen Alebeso said the scenes are similar to the detonation of an atomic bomb. Alebeso told CNN that he was in his car when the first explosion happened around 2 pm local time on Sunday.
“It was a very loud noise and everyone got out of their cars and we were all in shock. We saw the typical image of an atomic bomb in front of us. It was a confusing and desperate situation, people were screaming and crying, ”he said. she said.
All buildings in the area were completely destroyed and the bodies were still being removed from the area’s rubble on Monday, she added.
Alebeso added that medical aid is not reaching those who need it most.
“We have three main hospitals and they all collapsed. So many injured people, it was horrible. People were crying trying to get some treatment. It was a terrifying situation, ”she said.
“We ask for the contribution of blood donors,” said the health ministry on Twitter, calling on voluntary health personnel to go to the Regional Hospital of Bata.
According to the report, health professionals and firefighters are providing assistance to victims and transferring people with serious injuries to hospitals.
In a statement read in the local media on Sunday night, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo blamed the country’s military for mishandling dynamite and other explosive devices kept in his care – which he said caused the explosions after individuals suspected of being farmers set fire to a field bordering the military base.
“Bata was the site of an accident caused by the neglect and neglect of a unit charged with caring for and protecting the dynamite and explosive supplies near the ammunition at the Nkoantoma Military Base, which burned down with the burning of nearby land by neighbors, causing a explosion in the dynamite and explosives store and subsequently in the ammunition, “said the statement.
President Mbasogo called on the international community to assist his country in repairing the public and private infrastructure damaged in the explosion – which he said “will involve significant economic resources”.
The president said the tragic incident occurred at a time when Equatorial Guinea was still recovering from the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement on Sunday, the Spanish embassy asked its citizens in Equatorial Guinea to “stay home”.
The embassy did not provide further details about the notice of stay at home. However, it issued emergency numbers to all Spanish citizens in the country.
Equatorial Guinea is one of the smallest countries in Africa, with just over 850,000 residents. Bata is one of the two cities in the country with a population of more than 30,000 inhabitants, the other being the island capital Malabo.