The Monday, November 2 blast resulted in a fire that firefighters were able to quickly extinguish, said Samuel Dieudonne Ivaha Diboua, governor of Cameroon’s Littoral Region, which has Douala as its capital.
Douala-based manufacturing and trading company Metafrique Steel said its facilities in Bassa Industrial Park suffered in the blast.
An army rescue unit recovered the four bodies, Diboua said.
“At the level of the plant, 16 burned victims ended up rescued and moved to the Douala General Hospital … We must not be too optimistic given the severity of the burns,” Diboua added.
Diboua said safety measures issued after a deadly fire earlier this year had not been followed. He indicated the factory could end up suspended pending a full audit of industrial safety standards in the zone.
No further information was immediately available as to the cause and the victims.