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Dozens dead in Mozambique blasts | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
At least 72 people have been confirmed dead after a series of explosions at a weapons depot in Mozambique, government officials say. | |
Thousands of people fled as the blasts near Maputo international airport threw shells and shrapnel into the air. | |
More than 100 people were injured in the blasts, as the initial blasts caused further detonations. | |
It was the second time in less than two months that aging explosives in the arsenal have detonated. | |
President Armano Guebuza appealed for calm and said the military was investigating the cause. | President Armano Guebuza appealed for calm and said the military was investigating the cause. |
"Our defence forces are working to assess the situation. We call upon all our citizens to be calm until the situation is rectified," he said on national TV. | |
Huge cache | |
Officials blamed the high summer temperatures for the previous explosions. | Officials blamed the high summer temperatures for the previous explosions. |
Twenty tonnes of obsolete equipment have been awaiting destruction. | Twenty tonnes of obsolete equipment have been awaiting destruction. |
The weapons depot near the neighbourhood of Magoanine is the largest in Mozambique, reports said. | |
"It's the biggest armoury in the country. It contains thousands of tonnes of weapons and ammunition," Miguel Barreiro, a United Nations official in charge of the country's disarmament program, told the AFP news agency. |