'500 dead' after Nigeria blast

The death toll among those who fled the Nigerian munitions blast is reported to have exceeded 500.

Hundreds are feared to have drowned in a canal following the factory blast in Lagos.

Rescuers say many may have been unaware how deep the water was.

The blasts shook the city's northern neighbourhoods and shattered windows at the international airport six miles away.

Initially, the independent Rhythm FM radio station reported that more than 200 bodies were pulled from the water.

But the death tolls are now thought to have exceeded 500.

Thousands of people have gathered on the's edge, crying and wailing each time rescuers located a body.The windows and ceiling tiles of the Mandela hospital were destroyed, though all patients were safely evacuated, hospital staff say.

State and military officials have been on national television to appeal for calm. They say the explosions were an accident at an old facility and assured the population they are not an indication of military unrest.