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Unsure future for Moz amputees
03/04/2007 16:32 - (SA)
Maputo - Ten people who lost limbs in the Mozambique armoury explosions last month are still in Maputo central hospital, unsure what is going to happen to them, reported Vista News on Tuesday.
The independent television channel STv broadcast images of the injured, mainly women and children.
Joeta Joao, a mother of two who lost a leg in the blasts, told the channel she did not know if she would receive an artificial leg.
Another woman, a widow and mother of four, who also lost a leg, said she was "concerned about how she was going to fend for her children".
She said her youngest child was three months old.
The victims have been in hospital since March 22, the day of the blasts.
Authorities said the death toll from the explosions was 102 while more than 500 were injured.
'Commission of inquiry'
Forty of the severely injured remain in Maputo and Matola hospitals, while five children were sent to South Africa for specialised treatment.
The military blamed the blasts on high temperatures while government critics and international analysts alleged negligence.
President Armando Guebuza has appointed a commission of inquiry into the blasts. Its report is expected this week.
The is to be relocated to a less populated area.
Meanwhile, the army started destroying 4 000 unexploded munitions with the assistance of engineers from the SA National Defence Force.
Military spokesperson Joaquin Mataruca said on Monday that more than 400 tonnes of obsolete arms had been collected from the country's independence and civil wars.
The devices were in military installations in Maputo, Nampula and Sofala provinces.
- SAPA
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