A fire triggered a series of explosions at a military ammunition depot in Chad’s capital N’Djamena late Tuesday.
The blasts were heard near N'Djamena International Airport, eyewitnesses told Anadolu news agency.
Chad's Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah announced on his social media account that a fire broke out in the Goudji area of the capital.
Urging citizens to remain calm, he did not provide further information.
President's condolences
"There have been casualties and material damage due to a fire in the ammunition depot at the strategic reserve camp," President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno said in a statement on his social media account, without elaborating.
He did not give the number of fatalities.
The cause of the fire was not immediately clear, and the president said an investigation would be conduct
The president extended his condolences to the grieving families of those who lost their lives, wishing a swift recovery to the injured.
He said an investigation has been launched to determine the underlying causes and those responsible for the incident.
Explosions could still be heard more than an hour and a half after the initial blasts.
A senior army official, who requested anonymity, told AFP news agency the "biggest ammunition depot in N'Djamena has caught fire".
Multiple homes
There are multiple homes in the neighbourhood hosting the depot, which sits near the international airport and a base where French troops are stationed.
The blaze "caused explosions of ammunition of all calibres", an official with the French forces told AFP on condition of anonymity.
President Itno officially won 61 percent of a May 6 vote that international NGOs said was neither credible nor free and which his main rival called a "masquerade".
He was proclaimed transitional president in April 2021 by a junta of 15 generals after his father, President Idriss Deby Itno, was shot dead by rebels following 30 years in power.
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