A series of explosions at a military barrack in Equatorial Guinea killed at least 20 people and injured hundreds more, state television reported.
In a statement on national television, the president said the explosions were caused by negligence related to the use of dynamite at the base.
TVGE said at least five explosions caused at least 20 deaths and injured more than 400 others.
The Ministry of Health tweeted that its health workers are treating the injured at the scene of the tragedy and in medical facilities, but feared that people were still missing under the rubble.
Pictures on local media seen by The Associated Press show people screaming and crying running through the streets amid rubbish and smoke. Roofs of houses were torn off and injured people were taken to a hospital.
The blasts were a shock to the oil-rich Central African nation. A doctor who called TVGE, who went by his first name, Florentino, said that the situation was a “moment of crisis” and that the hospitals were overcrowded. He said a sports center set up for COVID-19 patients would be used to receive smaller cases.
The radio station, Radio Macuto, said on Twitter that people were evacuated within four kilometers of the city because the vapors could be harmful.
Following the explosion, the Spanish Embassy in Equatorial Guinea recommended on Twitter that “Spanish citizens stay in their homes.”
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