Death toll from blasts in Nigeria tops 1,000

LAGOS, Nigeria -- A week after massive explosions ripped though Lagos neighborhoods, officials on Saturday revealed the extent of the disaster: more than 1,000 people had died, mainly children who drowned in a canal as they fled in panic.

The new death toll -- 400 more than previously estimated -- was announced as the Nigerian Red Cross suspended its aid operations after military officials ordered the organization to hand over its relief supplies.

Home Affairs Commissioner Musiliu Obanikoro said the casualty count came after rescue efforts uncovered more bodies from a canal where hundreds of victims, many of them women and children, had drowned.

"From everything I have seen, as more bodies have been found over the days, the number of people who are deceased is now over 1,000 people," he said.

Obanikoro, speaking on the private Lagos radio station Rhythm 93.7 FM, said the search for more victims was tapering off. Lagos State Information Commissioner Dele Alake said authorities believed the latest toll was "close to" a final tally.

More than 700 bodies have been brought to mortuaries and the remaining 300 were claimed by individuals for private burials, Alake said.

Thousands fled last Sunday night after a chain of explosions erupted at an army base in the northern Ikeja neighborhood in Nigeria's crowded commercial capital.

The blasts lasted for hours, propelling shells and flaming debris for miles. Officials are still investigating the cause of the explosions.

Families of the victims have directed their anger at Nigeria's military for storing munitions in a heavily populated area. The army has promised to investigate, but many political leaders blame the military and are calling for an independent inquiry.

Nigerian authorities were planning a mass burial, possibly for Monday or Tuesday, for many of the unclaimed bodies. Dozens of decomposing corpses could be seen Saturday at the Ikeja hospital mortuary, where a few families waited outside for permission to remove the remains of loved ones.

Alake said a few bodies were still being recovered Saturday from the Oke Afa canal, where hundreds drowned.