The crater caused by the Ondo explosion in Nigeria
On March 28 morning, a massive explosion rocked a suburb of the city of Akure, the capital of the southern Nigerian State of Ondo.
According to Nigerian sources, the explosion split Akure-Owo road and inflicted serious damage on dozens of houses, 50 to 100, as well as a school and churches.
Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, revealed that the explosion was a an accident. According to the governor, a fire broke out in a vehicle within a convoy transporting explosives to a storage facility in a neighboring state, which caused the explosion.
"Security personnel and other individuals transporting the ordinances noticed smoke from the vehicle. After several attempts to extinguish the resulting fire failed, the vehicle and its consignment ignited causing a massive explosion that was felt in Akure and its environs," Akeredolu said, according to Punch, adding "I have directed that the area be cordoned off to allow the explosive ordinance department/bomb squad to extricate the vehicle buried underground because it is unclear if there are still explosives that are yet to be detonated."
Initial, the massive explosion was thought to be caused by a terrorist attack with a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) or even a small asteroid impact.
Nigerian authorities are now searching for any possible casualties of the explosion. Local source reported no missing people or deaths after the incident.
Comment: There are conflicting reports. According to
some reports, the crater was caused by a meteor impact!
The explosion that rocked Akure, Ondo state capital, on Saturday, was caused by a giant rock from space known as meteors, a team of experts have concluded.
A meteor is what happens when a meteoroid - a small piece of an asteroid - burns up upon entering earth's atmosphere, creating a streak of light in the sky.
The experts led by Adepelumi Adekunle, a professor of geophysics and earthquake engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University, said the meteors impacted the location from "an angle of 43 degrees".
[...]
Rotimi Akeredolu, governor of the state, had told journalists the blast occurred after a truck conveying explosives to a quarry exploded.
"I have been briefed by the security chiefs that in the early hours of Saturday March 28th, a vehicle in a convoy transporting explosives to a storage facility in a neighbouring state developed a fault while in transit along the Akure Owo Road about 2km from the Akure Airport," the governor had said.
But Adekunle said findings by his team suggest the explosion was caused by a natural phenomena, thereby contradicting the governor.
He added there was no evidence of a buried vehicle, buried ordinance or explosives from the site, and that "foreign rocks and strange metallic objects" were found within the crater crated.
His report read: "My Research group carried out a detailed analysis of the impact site. A circular impact crater with 21m diameter and 7.8m depth was found which suggest a natural phenomenal.
"Water was found oozing out from the edges of the crater. A preliminary in situ vibration, noise, seismicity, water analysis, radioactivity studies, rock and soil investigation were carried out.
"Our findings suggest that the impact of the blasting covers 1km radius of the surroundings of the crater. No evidence of fire or Burning of anything was found within the vicinity.
"No evidence of radioactivity radiation was found within the crater and immediate vicinity. The field evidence point to a conclusion that a meteoric from an asteroid belt that travels at a great speed from space impacted the location at an angle of 43 degrees created an ejecta at South-Western part."
Revelation 16:21
21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, [every stone]
about the weight of a talent 141lb : and men blasphemed God because of the
plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.