( CNN ) -- A series of explosions at an ammunition depot killed 200 people and wounded about 2,000 more in Brazzaville , the capital of Africa 's Republic of Congo , Congolese officials said Monday . The explosions occurred shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday ( 2 a.m . ET ) when a fire at the depot set off a cache of tank shells , said Betu Bangana , director of protocol for President Denis Sassou-Nguesso . Bangana said at least 200 people had been confirmed dead by Monday morning , and many bodies may be `` unfindable . '' Ministry of Information press attache Bruno Impene said hospitals were overflowing , with the wounded lying in the corridors . The blasts destroyed numerous homes in the neighborhoods surrounding the installation , Bangana said . The force of the explosions broke windows up to 5 km ( 3 miles ) away in Kinshasa , the capital of the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo . The DRC 's military responded by putting tanks and troops on the streets and the banks of the Congo River , which separates the two cities , until it became clear that no attack on the capital was under way . Impene said a short circuit the suspected cause of the fire . Authorities are treating the blaze as accidental , Bangana said . CNN 's Nkepile Mabuse and journalist Fred Robarts contributed to this report .
Hospitals are overflowing with wounded , an official says . An electrical fault is the probable cause of the ammo dump blasts . Congo 's government said the explosions killed at least 50 people . The concussions broke windows across the Congo River in Kinshasa .