EMT
Platinum Member
- Jan 13, 2010
- 14,477
- 15,356
Several explosions have rocked Congo's capital Brazzaville, in an accident at a munitions dump. Witnesses said the blasts were felt several miles away in the neighbouring city of Kinshasa, across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Plumes of smoke could be seen rising from Kinshasa, which lies over the river from Brazzaville. Officials and witnesses from the east of the city reported that the army tank regiment's ammunition depot was on fire and that many buildings around it had collapsed.
The BBC's Thomas Hubert, in Kinshasa, reports that residents of east Brazzaville fled from the area when the blasts began. One eyewitness, he reports, has warned that some casualties could be expected but no-one had yet visited the area as it was still too dangerous. Agence France Presse reported that at least four people had been killed in the blasts, and many were injured. "It's a munitions depot that caught fire in Mpila. That's next to the presidential palace," a woman living in Brazzaville told the news agency.
Source: BBC News - Munitions blast rocks Brazzaville
UPDATE 2
The death toll is reported to have reached 200 now. - BBC
UPDATE 1:
European Diplomat says at least 150 dead in Congo munition depot disaster - source AFP
Plumes of smoke could be seen rising from Kinshasa, which lies over the river from Brazzaville. Officials and witnesses from the east of the city reported that the army tank regiment's ammunition depot was on fire and that many buildings around it had collapsed.
The BBC's Thomas Hubert, in Kinshasa, reports that residents of east Brazzaville fled from the area when the blasts began. One eyewitness, he reports, has warned that some casualties could be expected but no-one had yet visited the area as it was still too dangerous. Agence France Presse reported that at least four people had been killed in the blasts, and many were injured. "It's a munitions depot that caught fire in Mpila. That's next to the presidential palace," a woman living in Brazzaville told the news agency.
Source: BBC News - Munitions blast rocks Brazzaville
UPDATE 2
The death toll is reported to have reached 200 now. - BBC
UPDATE 1:
European Diplomat says at least 150 dead in Congo munition depot disaster - source AFP