Zarafa — At least 100 people were injured, 10 of them severely, when a gasoline tanker exploded in Zarafa area of North Kordofan on Friday, witnesses told Radio Dabanga.

Zarafa is an area of gold mining on the border of Darfur and North Kordofan. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that a tanker filled with gasoline was parked in the local market. "There was some welding work going on nearby. The sparks from the welders caused a fire in the market. People gathered around the tanker to see what was going on and then the tanker exploded," a witness said.

He added that the fire engulfed a few shops in the market. The explosion caused the tanker to split in two halves which left over 100 people in the crowd injured. The injured were taken to a private hospital in order to receive treatment.

"But there is only one doctor in the hospital who needs to tend to all the casualties. The facilities are insufficient to take stock of the situation," a civilian told Radio Dabanga.