KANO: At least 21 people were killed when an explosion ripped through a viewing centre showing World Cup football in Damaturu, northern Nigeria, a medical source told AFP on Wednesday.

“We received 21 dead bodies and 27 injured victims from the blast,” the source at the Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital after the explosion in the Nayi-Nama area of the city on Tuesday night.

Local residents said the bomb appeared to have been hidden in a motorised rickshaw outside the venue, where crowds had gathered to watch tournament hosts Brazil play Mexico on large screens.