Sharjah 24 – AFP: The death toll following explosions at an arms depot in southern Kazakhstan rose to 12 on Friday, the Central Asian country's emergencies ministry said.

A search had uncovered the bodies of a further three staff who were helping to put out the fire that began on Thursday evening, spokesman Talgat Uali said.

Around 50 staff from the emergencies ministry had suffered injuries during the operation, he said.

"The (operation) to put the fire out continues," Uali told AFP. 

The blasts occurred at a defence ministry ammunitions depot in the southern region of Jambyl, leaving scores injured and nearby villages evacuated by authorities.

A video shared on the Telegram messaging app showed a column of smoke billowing from a fire before a powerful explosion sent flames shooting out. Another video showed debris flying through the sky in long arcs as the fire raged. 

The defence ministry said that a fire had broken out at the Jambyl ammunitions depot and "quickly spread to storage facilities where engineering ammunition is stored".

"The explosions stopped over time," the statement added. 

The defence ministry noted that some of the munitions stored at the Soviet-era depot in Jambyl had been transferred from the facility in Arys, where there have been calls to resettle the town's entire population of 45,000. 

At an emergency government meeting Friday, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Kazakhstan had "systemic problems" with its ammunitions storage. 

He called on authorities to investigate the disaster and provide help for the families of military personnel and rescuers who he said died "heroically in the line of duty".