Four killed in Congo blasts

BRAZZAVILLE: At least four people were killed and dozens wounded in a string of blasts at a munitions depot in the capital of the Republic of Congo on Sunday, AFP correspondents reported.

Four bodies, including that of a young girl, were seen at a nearby clinic, where a large number of the injured were also hospitalised.

The death toll could rise as witnesses told AFP they had seen many dead.

A number of wounded, many wearing military uniforms, were also receiving first aid in the streets, an AFP correspondent said.

The blasts, which even blew out windows across the Congo River in Kinshasa, were set off by a blaze in two munition depots in the Mpila armoured brigade barracks, in the east of Brazzaville, according to soldiers who refused to be named.

There was no official word from the government on the cause of the explosions, or damage sustained.

A diplomat said firefighters were finding it hard to fight the blaze because of ongoing explosions.

A number of houses suffered serious damage, their windows and doors were blown away and their roofs partially lifted, an AFP correspondent said.

A Catholic church, close to the barracks, was also damaged when the explosions occurred during Sunday mass.

"It's a munitions depot that caught fire in Mpila. That's next to the presidential palace. I saw two people injured. One had a leg injury, the other a wound to the shoulder," a woman living in Brazzaville told AFP.

"They had probably been hurt by falling debris from houses. A wall fell down in my home," she added.

"There are many people on the street. They are running away, barefoot, carrying parcels on their heads. Some are hardly dresssed. There are no cars, no buses, no taxis," she added.

River traffic between Kinshasa and Brazzaville was also suspended, a Kinshasa port official said.

In Beijing, the Xinhua news agency, quoting the Chinese embassy in Brazzaville, said one Chinese was killed and several others injured in the explosions.

The victims were among some 140 Chinese workers from the Beijing Construction Engineering Group working near the site of the blast at the time, the Chinese company said.

A number of injured workers were sent to hospital for medical treatment, while a Chinese medical team was involved in the rescue work, Xinhua said.

At least five strong explosions were heard between 8:00 am (0700 GMT) and 10:45 am (0945 GMT).

A plume of smoke could be seen over Brazzaville from across the Congo River in Kinshasa, capital of neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

In addition to the blasts, there were other weaker detonations.

On the opposite river bank, in Kinshasa, several buildings had their windows blown out, and a church in the centre of town also suffered damage, a cleric said. (AFP)