At least 20 people have been killed after a series of large explosions at a military base in the city of Bata in Equatorial Guinea.
© ReutersA view of destroyed structures following explosions at a military base in Bata (Pic: TVGE/Reuters)
More than 400 people were also injured in the explosions at the military barracks in the Mondong Nkuantoma neighbourhood.
In a statement on national television, president Teodoro Obiang said the blasts were caused by "negligent handling of dynamite" at the base.
The health ministry said medics are treating the injured at the site, but it is feared people are missing under the rubble.
TVGE news channel called on people to donate blood and said hospitals in the Central African nation were full of people injured in the explosions.
A doctor calling into TVGE, who went by his first name, Florentino, said the situation was a "moment of crisis" and that hospitals were overcrowded.
He said a sports centre set up for COVID-19 patients would be used to receive minor cases.
The radio station, Radio Macuto, said that people were being evacuated within 4km of the city because the fumes might be harmful.
Footage from the scene shows firefighters responding to people on the street and destroyed buildings.
Trucks filled with survivors, many of whom were children, drove up to the front of a local hospital where some victims were filmed lying on the floor.
In the blast area, iron rooves were ripped off houses and lay twisted amid the rubble.