‘Short-circuit’ caused Congo’s deadly arms depot blasts

Accident : 1,500 people were hurtHuge explosions at an arms depot that killed at least 146 people in Congo’s capital Brazzaville were caused by a short-circuit that led to a fire, government officials say.They say some 1,500 people were hurt.Rescuers are still searching for survivors amid fears that the death toll would rise further.The force of the blasts was felt several miles away in the city of Kinshasa, across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo.The BBC’s Thomas Hubert, in Kinshasa, says residents of east Brazzaville fled when the blasts began.Exclusion zone He says the explosions started shortly after 08:00 local time (07:00 GMT) on Sunday and continued into the early afternoon, causing panic in both cities.“It’s like a tsunami passed through here. The roofs of houses were blown off,” Congolese student Christine Ibata, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.Government spokesman Bienvenu Okyemi said late on Sunday that a short-circuit led to a fire which then quickly spread through the depot.He added that the confirmed death toll stood at 146, but rescuers continued to comb the area.The main fire was now under control, the spokesman said, though a number of buildings were still burning.After visiting two hospitals, visibly shaken President Denis Sassou-Nguesso said the government was doing all it could and urged the Congolese “to show courage and solidarity”.He also announced a curfew in the area and set up an exclusion zone. The government also asked “several international organisations” to provide assistance in dealing with the disaster, the AFP news agency reports.Defence Minister Charles Zacharie Bowao earlier appeared on national TV to urge calm in Brazzaville and across the Congo river in Kinshasa.“The explosions that you have heard don’t mean there is a war or a coup d’etat,” he said. “Nor does it mean there was a mutiny. It is an incident caused by a fire at the munitions depot.”Streets in the capital were littered with twisted sheets of metal and debris.Didier Boutsindi, of the presidential office, said many people were trapped in the wreckage of a collapsed church.