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Maputo blast leaves scores dead

People flee explosions at an ammunitions depot near the international airport in Maputo, Mozambique, on Thursday. PHOTO: EPA

An explosion at an arms depot near the international airport in Mozambique's capital has left around 80 people dead and more than 100 injured, many of them children, government and emergency services said yesterday.

Exploding bombs, mines and rounds of ammunition ignited those around them in the country's largest arms depot late on Thursday, in a series of blasts that could be heard around the city.

Explosives rocketed from the armory, near the neighborhood of Magoanine, and landed on nearby houses which went up in flames, causing residents to flee in panic.

"We have more than 80 dead and at least 165 injured. Many are still in the field. There are so many people still to be rescued, as well as many bodies," said Bonifacio Antonio, spokesman for the country's disaster management services.

A health ministry spokesman put the death toll at 72, with 360 injured.

Antonio said that most of the injured were children.

"Very many of the casualties were children. There are so many children ... a lot of children were running in the streets," frightened by the initial blast and then hit by the impact of subsequent explosions.

On the nature of the injuries he said: "Most of them are amputations rather than burns."

While there was no official confirmation of the cause of the explosion, it was thought to be due to the intense heat of the afternoon.

"We have been experiencing high temperatures of 37 and 38o in the past months and this accumulation could have resulted in the explosions," said ministry of defense spokesman Joaquim Mataruca on state television channel TVM.
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