DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania - A series of blasts at a Tanzania military munitions dump killed at least 25 people late on Wednesday, flattening neighboring buildings and sending thousands of local residents fleeing in panic.

Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda told parliament on Thursday that 4,000 people had sought shelter at the national stadium in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, where the blasts occurred.

"The death toll might rise when we ascertain the full extent of the damage caused by the explosions," Pinda said in a statement to parliament.

Reuters television footage showed badly wounded victims - one child bled from facial injuries and another had shrapnel protruding from his lower back. Several others were rushed to local hospitals with broken bones or severed limbs.

Defense Minister Hussein Mwinyi told Reuters the explosions had stopped, but officials had yet to determine the cause.

Some 23 munitions depots, a secondary school and two houses were razed in the chain of explosions at the Gongo la Mboto military base in Ilala district.

Tanzania's Civil Aviation Authority told Reuters the main Dar es Salaam International Airport, located about 10 km from the blast site, re-opened around lunchtime.

Aviation officials said there was no damage reported there or at the airport on the semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar, one of Tanzania's leading tourist destinations, which was temporarily closed overnight.

The blasts scattered debris across densely populated neighborhoods several kilometers from the military base.

Reuters