File Photo: The scene of a blast in Kano, northern Nigeria

At least 12 people were killed in north Nigeria’s biggest city of Kano in a twin suicide attack by two men at a packed bus station on Tuesday, police said.

Kano state police spokesman Musa Magaji Majia described the attack at the Kano Lines terminus as “suicide explosions” by two men after they got off a bus from Wudil, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) away

“Ten people were killed in the blast and several others were wounded. The area was cordoned off and then bomb experts swept the place for more explosives but nothing was found,” he told reporters.

The explosion at the Kano Line Station occurred at about 3:40 pm (1540 GMT) and sent people rushing from the site of the blast, many of them covered in blood.

“I was attending to customers when I heard a loud explosion that shook the building,” said one local shopkeeper who works opposite the terminus.

An orange seller inside the bus station confirmed his account.

“We rushed outside and we saw plumes of black smoke coming from the Kano Line Station,” the shopkeeper said.

“People and buses were rushing out of the bus station. One bus was splattered with blood and human flesh.”

There was no immediate indication of casualties but there were fears of a heavy death toll, given that the bus station is normally packed with commuters and travellers.

The police had cordoned off the scene.

Kano is north Nigeria’s largest city and has been among the places hardest hit by Boko Haram’s six-year insurgency, which is aiming to create a hardline Islamic state in the region.

One of the worst strikes was a November 29 attack on worshippers attending Friday prayers at the city’s central mosque, which killed at least 120 people and injured 270 others.

Last July, Kano was attacked by female bombers four times in a week, while in January 2012, Boko Haram gunmen rampaged across the city, killing at least 185.