Dozens wounded by blasts at Kazakh military facility

Kazakhstan has evacuated settlements located next to a military facility in its southern Zhambyl province after it was rocked by a series of powerful blasts that wounded at least 32 people, authorities in the Central Asian nation said on Thursday.

The blasts followed a fire at the facility, where some engineering-purpose explosives were stored, deputy defence minister Ruslan Shpekbayev said. Separately, traffic and railway authorities said they were closing off a road and a railroad passing through the area.

Thirty-two people have been hospitalised with injuries from the blasts, the provincial government said, adding that the fire was yet to be put out.

Videos posted online showed that the explosion took place not far from a major road connecting provincial centre Taraz to Almaty, the country's business hub and biggest city.