Ammo Explodes at Tanzania Dump Site, 3 Killed
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: April 29, 2009
ARUSHA, Tanzania (AP) -- Huge explosions rocked an ammunition dump at an army camp in Tanzania's commercial capital Wednesday, killing three people and injuring more than 150, officials said.
Dr Sylvia Mamkwe, a doctor at Temeke Municipal, said it had received the three fatalities, and state-run Tanzania Broadcasting Corp., citing police on the site, gave the injury total.
Police spokesman Mohamed Mhina said the blasts lasted for about two hours and fires were still burning two hours after that. Local media reports said houses around the military base were on fire.
Local schools have called parents to come pick up their children. The blast rattled windows in houses 37 miles (60 kilometers) away, said resident Kate Esmail.
William Nchimbi, the deputy defense minister, said bombs, bullets and other ammunition exploded in an armory at the Bagala Army Camp in the coastal city of Dar es Salaam.
''We have formed a team to assess the source and the loss incurred,'' Nchimbi told journalists in the northeastern town of Arusha, where he was attending a regional leaders' meeting. He did not take any questions.
Ammunition dumps in Tanzania are volatile and easily ignited. The Bagala Army Camp is surrounded by civilian homes but is far from downtown Dar es Salaam.