Congo Puts Toll in Airport Blasts at 10 Dead, 216 Injured

Red Cross workers dug through the ruins of a collapsed hangar in a desperate search for survivors Saturday, a day after a mysterious chain of deadly explosions struck Kinshasa’s international airport.

Official radio put the death toll at 10. But reports from Belgium, Congo’s former colonial ruler, said between 40 and 50 people had been killed--including victims hit by debris up to several miles away. Hospital officials said 216 were seriously injured.

The death toll could rise much higher, with customs officials saying more than 100 people could still be trapped in the hangar.

Explanations of what caused the blasts Friday at Kinshasa’s Ndjili international airport ranged from a short circuit to a soldier dropping ammunition while unloading a plane full of weapons.

“First there was the big explosion. Then we saw rockets and shells flying. People were running everywhere, but the hangar collapsed before many could get out,” said Kalala Ngoy, a 42-year-old customs inspector. “Soldiers were running. The bosses were running. Poor people were running. We were all the same in the face of death.”

The government initially declined to comment on the disaster, but Congolese Information Minister Didier Mumengi said late Saturday that the government was setting up an investigative commission to look into the cause of the explosions.

The explosions occurred on the first full day of a new cease-fire agreed to April 8 by the parties in Congo’s civil war.

President Laurent Kabila toured the wreckage-strewn site Saturday morning and was seen speaking with several victims’ families.