/ 26 March 2007

Death toll from Maputo blasts reaches 100

The death toll in Thursday's explosions at a Maputo armoury has reached 100 while about 500 people were injured. Mozambique Health Minister Ivo Garrido said the number could increase as some victims were still in critical condition at Maputo central hospital.

The death toll in Thursday’s explosions at a Maputo armoury has reached 100 while about 500 people were injured. This was revealed by Mozambique Health Minister Ivo Garrido on Sunday, Vista News reports.

Garrido said the number could increase as some victims were still in critical condition at Maputo central hospital.

Thursday’s blasts at the army’s warehouses at Malhazine armoury were rated the worst since the first such incident occurred in 1985. In the 1985 blasts, twelve people were killed.

The military has blamed the blasts on intense heat in the area.

Defence Ministry spokesperson Joaquim Mataruca told reporters that while the government was investigating the cause of the explosions, currently it was blamed on temperatures of 36 degrees Celsius on the day of the incident.

Opposition politicians have dismissed the idea that the armoury went up in smoke because of high temperatures, and instead blamed it on negligence on the part of the defence authorities.

Yacub Sibindy, the leader of the Independent Party of Mozambique (Pimo), said in an interview that his party had not accepted the assertions by military authorities that the blasts were due to high temperatures.

”This is mere negligence and they should not try to find unfounded reasons to justify their incapabilities,” he said.

The government has appointed a commission of inquiry led by prominent lawyers to investigate the cause of the explosions.

Three days of national mourning were declared from Saturday and flags have been flying at half mast.

On Sunday soldiers continued patrolling the townships near Malhazine armoury looking for unexploded missiles.

Meanwhile hundreds of residents from the surrounding townships have abandoned their homes to safer localities — some as far as Manchica, 80km from the city. – Sapa