NZ nurses unharmed after Sudan explosion

Two New Zealand nurses are unharmed after an explosion that killed at least 24 people in the south Sudanese town of Juba yesterday.

New Zealand Red Cross said today it had been in touch with the families of aid workers Chris Ives of Wellington and Aucklander Helen Cater, who are based at Juba Teaching Hospital.

Juba was rocked for more than an hour by explosions and shelling after an ammunition depot went up in flames.

An army statement said the blast was caused by a warehouse fire and it was not believed "hostile action" was involved. Juba stayed in government hands throughout southern Sudan's two decades of civil war, with a large garrison to protect it from rebels.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said its personnel took shelter in the delegation headquarters, hospital and compound and all were unharmed.

The ICRC team has started to evacuate the wounded to Juba Teaching Hospital.

New Zealand Red Cross acting director general Terry Butt said Red Cross delegates were well equipped for such situations.

"The ICRC is used to working in areas of conflict and has emergency plans which are activated in this kind of situation," Mr Butt said.

Ms Cater is on her first mission with New Zealand Red Cross while Ms Ives, who has been a Red Cross aid worker since 1980, is on her sixth mission.

- NZPA