Explosives on Seychelles' Mahe Island are to be temporarily stored at military facility

The explosion caused massive damages to buildings and businesses in the area and residential houses in the vicinity. (Seychelles Nation)

Explosives and fireworks in Seychelles will now be stored in a safer and more secure area at Barbarons in the western side of Mahe, the main island, said Vice President Ahmed Afif on Wednesday.

Afif announced in a press conference in which he gave an update on the efforts the authorities are making to better manage storing explosives on the island.

The decision to move the explosives and fireworks to Barbarons comes after an enormous explosion of four containers of explosives during the early hours of December 7 at a storage facility of the Civil Construction Company Limited (CCCL) at the Providence Industrial Estate.

The explosion caused massive damages to buildings and businesses at the area and residential houses in the vicinity.

Afif explained that moving the explosives and fireworks was "a temporary solution at the moment, but we are in talks with the private companies that own fireworks and explosives to build a subterranean storage facility in the coming year."

He added that "the companies have given us their assurances that they are on board with the idea."

The new location for the storing of explosives is at a military facility and Brigadier Michael Rossette, the Chief of Defence Forces, assured that they are "ready to deal with the explosives when they arrive."

The explosives will now be stored in six secured containers at the military facility at Barbarons.

According to Afif, the site was chosen due to "it being at least four kilometres from the nearest houses and should there be another explosion, the big mountain there will prevent there from being major damages to the houses nearby."

The Vice President gave assurances that United Concrete Products Seychelles (UCPS)  and CCCL sites on Praslin are safe.

Meanwhile, an investigation is ongoing into the explosion at the CCCL facility. President Wavel Ramkalawan announced last week that the United Kingdom has given Seychelles assistance in the investigation of the explosion.