Explosions at Turkey gunpowder factory leave 2 dead

Two explosions at a gunpowder factory in central Turkey on Friday killed two people and injured at least 16 others, officials and reports said.

The explosions in central Kirikkale province killed two people and injured 16, Gov. Mustafa Demirer told the private CNN-Turk television.

However, officials from two hospitals in Kirikkale told CNN-Turk that 22 people had been injured and one was in serious condition.

The explosions occurred at the factory at 2:50 p.m., state-run Anatolia news agency said. It was not immediately clear what caused the explosions.

TV footage showed white smoke rising from the site, which appeared to be surrounded by trees. Ambulances could be seen rushing to the scene.

Kirikkale is home to a state-run weapons plant. An explosion in the plant in 1997 led to a deadly fire that raged for days. Several thousand people were evacuated for fear that the fire would spread to residential areas.

The gunpowder factory involved in Friday's explosion, however, is far from the scene of the 1997 weapons plant explosion, CNN-Turk said.