President Teodoro Obiang Nguema (archive)
Photo: © Afolabi Sotunde / Reuters / REUTERS
At least 15 people were killed in explosions in Equatorial Guinea, West Africa.
At least 500 people were also injured, said President Teodoro Obiang Nguema on state television.
According to the reports, there were at least four powerful explosions in a military camp in the city of Bata, which is considered the economic center of the country.
State television showed pictures of destroyed houses and injured people, including numerous children.
The exact cause of the explosions was initially unknown. Obiang Nguema spoke of "an accident due to the negligence of the unit responsible for guarding explosives, dynamite and ammunition".
The Spanish embassy in the capital Malabo called on the Spaniards living in Bata to stay at home if possible.
There is currently only sparse information from the city, since the Internet has apparently partly failed there.
In 1968 the former colony became independent from Spain.
Bata is the largest city in the oil- and gas-rich country, where the vast majority of the population lives in poverty.
About 200,000 people live in the city.
The city is located on the mainland, while the capital Malabo is on the island of Bioko.
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