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Deadly explosions rock Freetown Deadly explosions rock Freetown
(about 8 hours later)
Three huge explosions have rocked the centre of the Sierra Leone capital, Freetown, eyewitnesses say. Three huge explosions have rocked the centre of the Sierra Leone capital, Freetown, killing at least 17 people, rescue and medical workers have said.
At least 17 bodies had been recovered, said the deputy head of the fire-fighting service. The fire service said they believed the blasts, which occurred in a shop off Free Street in the city centre, might have been caused by a gas leak.
Human body parts litter the road outside the building, while people are crying and wailing, says a BBC correspondent at the scene. The main hospital said it was struggling to cope with the wounded.
The blasts happened in a shop in Free Street, the heart of the capital. The cause is not yet clear. Many people are trapped inside the building, which has been badly damaged.
Some reports suggest there may have been a gas leak. A BBC correspondent at the scene says human body parts litter the road outside.
Doctors at the main hospital say they are struggling to cope with the number of wounded. Doctors struggling
The BBC's Umaru Fofana says previously closed wards have been opened because of the large numbers of casualties. Senior security sources told the BBC that the incident began when a fire broke out in a clothes shop in a narrow road running off the main street through central Freetown.
Many people are still trapped inside the four-storey building, which has been badly damaged. The fire brigade were attempting to extinguish the fire in the shop, which was located on the ground floor of a four-storey residential building, when there was a series of explosions, the sources said.
The area was full of people buying clothes for the holiday season. The deputy chief of the fire brigade, Ahmad Kamara-Bongay, said the explosions were probably caused by a gas leak which was ignited by the fire in the shop.
The blasts seriously damaged the fire engine which had been parked outside the building and killed at least 17 people, Mr Kamara-Bongay said. It is not yet known if any fire officers are among the dead.
The area was full of people buying clothes for the holiday season and many people are believed to be trapped beneath the remains of the badly damaged building.
The BBC's Mark Doyle says the shop is believed to have been owned, as are many retail outlets in Sierra Leone, by a member of the large resident Lebanese community.
Doctors at the main Connaught hospital are struggling to cope with the large number of casualties and previously closed wards have had to be opened.