Series of explosions rock Dar es Salaam
At least 20 people have been killed in explosions after an accident at an army base in Tanzania's commercial capital, Dar es Salaam. Thousands of residents living near the military base have fled the area, many congregating at the National Stadium in the city centre.
The SOS Children's Village in Dar es Salaam has not been damaged, and staff there are ready and able to offer accomodation for any unaccompanied children.
SOS projects unharmed
The SOS Children's Village in Dar es Salaam is located far away from where the explosions occured, so managed to escape damage. However, 4,000 people have sought shelter at the national stadium, after being advised to evacuate their neighbourhoods. SOS Children has offered to take in any unaccompanied children who might have been separated from their families in the chaos. SOS Children will join the Red Cross, other NGOs and government officials to assess the extent of the damage and discuss necessary measures.
The blasts hit the Gongo la Mboto military base in the Llala district, a few kilometres from the Dar es Salaam International Airport, and scattered debris across densely populated neighbourhoods several kilometres away from the military base. While the country's armed forces are investigating the incident, there was no indication of foul play. In April 2009, 26 people were killed and more than 700 wounded by a string of powerful blasts at an arms depot in Dar es Salaam.
At present there are three SOS Children's Villages, one SOS Youth Home, two SOS Nurseries, two SOS Schools and one SOS Medical Centre in Tanzania.
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