A lethal fire broke out at a large military ammunition depot in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, causing powerful explosions that lit up the night sky and shook buildings miles away.
The late Tuesday fire produced explosions that turned the sky red and were audible from miles away as ammunition ignited in the flames, according to AFP journalists and witnesses.
President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno confirmed that there were fatalities and injuries, though he did not specify the numbers. He expressed his condolences to the victims’ families and wished a swift recovery to the injured in a Facebook post, where he also announced an investigation into the incident. For several hours, flames lit up the sky above the Goudji area, home to the army’s largest ammunition depot, before gradually subsiding and finally stopping after midnight.
The explosions were so powerful that buildings up to seven kilometers (four miles) away shook, and the flames could be seen from a considerable distance.
Resident Kadidja Dakou, who lives in the nearby Amsinene area, reported that one of the explosions blew off the roof of her house.
Authorities secured the area with a strong security presence, and thick red smoke lingered long after the explosions ceased. A French forces official stated that the fire triggered explosions of various types of ammunition. He also confirmed that no French military personnel had been injured.
