Explosion at Ecuador army base

There has been a powerful explosion at an army munitions dump in Ecuador.

You could feel a strong explosion that formed a mushroom cloud like a volcano

Rosendo Coba
Red Cross volunteer

Reports indicate that at least six people have been killed and 300 wounded by the blast, in the city of Riobamba in the Andes mountains.

An Ecuadorean military spokesman, General Luis Aguas, told the local media that the explosion apparently happened when a grenade went off in the ammunition stockpile at a base used by the Galapagos armoured brigade.

Colonel Arturo Cadena four civilians and two soldiers had been killed.

Interior Minister Rodolfo Barniol described the explosion as "considerable".

"You could feel a strong explosion that formed a mushroom cloud like a volcano," Rosendo Coba, a Red Cross volunteer, told a local radio station.

The explosions - which began at 1600 (2100 GMT) - continued for hours making it difficult for rescuers to reach the site.

The Red Cross said most of the wounded had been caught by flying glass.

About 60 of the wounded are said to be in critical condition.

Phone lines went down in the city of 124,000 people, which is 170 kilometres (106 miles) from the capital Quito.

Thousands fled the area and Red Cross spokeswoman Monica Menendez told Reuters news agency that people were being evacuated from the area.