Hot temperatures in the capital of Mozambique set off a series of explosions at a military armoury today that killed three people, state radio said.
Explosions at the facility, a main storage area for old armaments, sent mortars and rockets flying into residential areas of Maputo and led to the closure of city's airport.
Mozambique President Armando Guebuza had been due to fly to South Africa on Friday to meet President Thabo Mbeki, but state radio said the visit had been cancelled due to the blasts. There was no immediate information about when the airport would reopen.
Mozambique television showed scores of bloodied people streaming into local hospitals after the explosions began at around 4:45 pm at the armoury located near the Malhazine residential district about a kilometre from the city centre.
State radio quoted the defence ministry as saying hot temperatures, which hit a high of 36 degrees centigrade, led to the explosions at the facility. The radio gave no details about the fatalities from the blasts.
It said around 20 tonnes of old military equipment was being stored at the armoury, where the explosions and fires engulfed parts of the city with thick smoke.
"My house has been destroyed. One mortar struck the window and exploded inside," a shaken woman, Cheiza Langa, told Reuters.
The incident marked the second time this year that high temperatures had set off explosions in the armoury, although when it happened in January no one died.