Sudan arms factory hit by explosions and fire

Fire has engulfed an arms factory in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, following an explosion.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Fire has engulfed an arms factory in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, following an explosion.Khartoum governor Abdul Rahman al-Khidir told state media that no-one had died but that some people had suffered smoke inhalation.The reason for the blast at the Yarmouk industrial complex in the south of the city is not yet clear.Flames also spread to nearby buildings causing panic among local residents, local media said."There was a very loud explosion and you can see now a huge fire,” one resident told Reuters news agency.Armed forces spokesman Col Al-Sawarmi Khalid said the explosion set light to surrounding grass and trees sending flames over a wide area, state news agency Suna reported. He said civil defence forces had contained the fire."Investigations are under way to determine the causes of the explosion as well as assessing human and material loss,” he said.Witnesses reported seeing two or three fires with dense smoke and intermittent flashes of white light.Mr Khidir, governor of Khartoum state, told local TV that the explosion had occurred at midnight.