Explosion at weapons depot kills 93

? Anxious crowds gathered at the city’s hospital Friday as doctors and nurses struggled to keep up with a stream of patients wounded when a weapons depot exploded in a densely populated neighborhood, sparking a cascade of rockets and ammunition and killing 93.

The inferno – blamed on blistering temperatures that overheated the dilapidated depot Thursday – deepened the misery in this poor southern African country that is still struggling to cope with the aftermath of floods and a cyclone last month.

Health Minister Ivo Garrido said Friday that 93 people were killed in Thursday’s explosion, which shattered windows, shook nearby buildings and rained rockets down on residential areas.

With casualties still arriving at Maputo’s central hospital, Garrido said the number of injured was not known but was more than 300.

The government declared three days of national mourning and said flags will be flown at half staff.

Garrido said the casualties included military personnel working on the site and civilians – many of them children – living in the crowded, poor neighborhood.

“I thought it was another civil war or coup d’etat,” said Jamisse Ossumane, who sustained serious back injuries when something – he did not know what – hit him in his home.

The country’s long civil war ended in 1992.

President Armando Guebuza toured the stricken area, visited victims in hospital and appealed to the nation for solidarity with the victims.

“We mourn what has is happening,” said Guebuza.

The defense ministry said high temperatures in recent months were the most likely cause of Thursday’s explosion. The temperature Thursday was 93 degrees. The searing heat was blamed for a smaller explosion at the depot in January when three people were injured.