Johannesburg (dpa) – A short-circuit was the likely cause of five explosions at a munitions dump in the capital of the Republic of the Congo that possibly killed more than 200 people, government officials and state-run media said Monday. The official news agency in Brazzaville said emergency workers were continuing their rescue efforts while firefighters tackled the last blazes at the depot. Radio Okapi – based in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the blasts broke windows and caused panic – reported that at least 146 people had died, but quoted diplomats as saying the explosions, which began early Sunday, may have killed 200. Among the dead where several Chinese workers with the Beijing Construction Engineering Group in the central African country, according to the Xinhua news agency. The army moved in to secure the affected neighborhood – parts of which were totally destroyed – after frightened people started to flee to northern districts. According to Brazzaville government spokesman Bienvenue Okemi, the explosion was most likely an accident caused by faulty wiring. The depot held weapons intended for destruction, the government said. Civilian and military hospitals in the Republic of the Congo were overwhelmed, according to TV and radio reports. Brazzaville has appealed for international assistance. The US embassy in Brazzaville and the British government in London expressed their condolences. Following the explosions, officials in Kinshasa rushed to calm residents, as some thought they were happening in the city while others believed a coup might have taken place in the neighboring country. The two nations are divided by the Congo river. A home video taken in Kinshasa captured the moment of the first blast across the river – it showed a massive explosion and shock waves, shaking buildings and breaking glass. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/lO1hL Tags: Congo, Explosion, Wiring, Workers Section: Latest News, West Africa
