The death toll in a bomb blast/gas explosion that occurred in Kano State on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, has increased to nine according to reports.

The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs made this known while announcing the arrival of the DG of the NEMA, Mustapha Habib Ahmed, at the scene of the incident.

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While giving an update on the event, state Commissioner of Police Mr. Sama’ila Dikko said it was a gas explosion from a welder’s business near a nursery and primary school.

The blast happened around 9.30 a.m. on a road near Winners Kids Academy, destroying a residential building and shattering a portion of the school.

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The police boss said, “The explosion brought the building down, and people were buried in rubbles from where four dead bodies were recovered.

However, an eyewitness reportedly told the Punch Metro that it was not a gas explosion but a bomb blast.

The eyewitness, Mansur Babajide, stated, “As far as I am concerned, it was not a gas explosion, but a bomb, due to the high-density vibration,” stressing that the explosion shook residences up to five kilometers distant.

According to him, the sound of the explosion reverberated throughout his workshop, which is located on Burma Road, roughly five kilometers from the explosion site.

Another eyewitness, Luke Okenwa, who lives in the area, said it was not a gas explosion, noting that there are no gas cylinder merchants in the area, and that what happened was an indicator that suicide bombers had penetrated the city, necessitating more vigilance to prevent a repeat.