YAOUNDE, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Cameroon army said on Tuesday that Monday's explosion on the northern border with Nigeria was an accidental grenade blast, instead of a suicide attack.
According to Cameroon army spokesman, Colonel Cyrille Atonfack Nguemo, nine people were killed and 26 others wounded when a hand grenade explosion occurred Monday afternoon on the bridge over El Beid river in the Cameroon frontier town of Fotokol. The blast resulted from "reckless manipulation" of a grenade found in the sand in the locality by "two little boys".
Early reports indicated that 11 people were killed and 26 others wounded in the explosion believed to be a suicide bombing by the Boko Haram.
"Investigations and eye witness accounts with the survivors of the incident proved with certainty that it was not a suicide bomb attack," Nguemo said in the statement.
"Nine people all Nigerians were killed, 21 Nigerians wounded and 5 Cameroonians wounded in the blast," he added.
All the wounded people were immediately evacuated to health facilities in Fotokol in Cameroon and Gambaru in Nigeria, according to the army.
The army did not state the origins of the grenade in the locality that is routinely patrolled by government forces.
Boko Haram has been active in the Far North region of Cameroon bordering Nigeria and Chad. Late December, about 50 fishermen were killed by the group in this triple frontier area.
