The incident occurred in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman when a vagrant youth removed the lock on a gas cylinder at a scrap metal shop, police said in a statement.
"Two hundred and two people were injured and taken to hospital," they said.
A doctor at Omdurman hospital confirmed more than 200 people were admitted, "some in a critical condition." Most were examined and released but more than 40 were still at the hospital late Friday afternoon, the doctor said.
A large contingent of police was stationed around the hospital.
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