At least 20 people were killed and 600 others were injured, in explosions that also destroyed an army camp and surrounding neighborhoods in Equatorial Guinea.

The country's president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, had announced earlier that the explosions had killed at least 15 people and injured more than 600 others.

The president accused farmers of allowing a fire to spread, and the army neglected to monitor the camp's weapons arsenal.

4 powerful explosions destroyed buildings in the camp, located in the economic capital, Bata, in addition to a large number of houses surrounding it.

The television called on viewers to donate blood, saying that hospitals in the country were overcrowded.

Neglecting?

The country's president said in a statement broadcast on state television, that the matter relates to "an accident caused by neglect of the unit responsible for storing explosives, dynamite and ammunition," noting that the bombings resulted in deaths and injuries.

Television footage showed destroyed and burned buildings, and people, including children, were being pulled out of the rubble, while wounded people lay on the floor of a hospital.

The station showed clips showing the billowing of thick smoke that it said emanated from the Nkua Ntuma military camp in Bata.

The bombing caused great material losses, in addition to killing dozens and wounding hundreds (Reuters)

The station reported that the first explosion occurred on Sunday afternoon.

"We heard the explosion and saw the smoke, but we don't know what is happening," one of the residents told AFP.

At first it was not possible to determine the cause of the explosions, but a journalist at the station pointed to reports suggesting that the explosion occurred in the camp's weapons depots.

The journalist explained that the camp includes elements of the army's special forces and the paramilitary gendarmerie.

Iron fist

Teodoro Obiang Nguema, 75, has ruled Equatorial Guinea with an iron fist since taking office in a coup in 1979.

His son Manga, the vice president in charge of defense and security responsibilities, appeared at the scene, examining the destruction, accompanied by his Israeli bodyguards, according to the television broadcast.

Manghe is seen as the successor to his father.

About 800,000 of the country's 1.4 million people live in Bata, the largest city in the oil and gas-rich country, but most of them suffer from poverty.

While Bata is located on the mainland, the capital is on the island of Bioko off the coast of West Africa.

The explosion comes at a time when Equatorial Guinea, the oil-producing country, suffers from two economic shocks due to the Corona pandemic and the fall in crude prices, which contribute about three-quarters of the country's revenues.

Equatorial Guinea is a former Spanish colony located in Central Africa and ruled by Obiang, who has the longest stay in power in Africa, where he has ruled since 1979 when he staged a bloody military coup and deposed his uncle, who was subsequently executed.