A WEAPONS DEPOT caught fire this morning, killing more than 200 people and wounding many more, in the capital city of Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo.

BBC NEWS reports that there were a number of explosions heard across the city this morning from 8am. According to the Associated Press, at least 206 people were killed after a fire started at an arms depot at a military base.

Already, 136 bodies have been taken to the city morgue. Another 237 patients have been treated at a local hospital.

Houses, churches and other buildings were flattened and a plume of smoke rose high above the city.

Across the river in Congo-Kinshasa, or the Democratic Republic of Congo, windows were shattered due to the force of the explosions, says the Guardian. The river separates the former French colony of Congo from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Reuters reports that both governments have called for calm and said that the events of the day were a result of an accident and not a coup attempt or mutiny.

-Additional reporting by AP