16 killed as fire hits Sudan factory: doctors

A fire triggered by an explosion tore through a factory in the Sudanese capital on Tuesday, killing 16 people and injuring dozens, doctors and witnesses said.

Thick plumes of black smoke billowed into the sky after the blaze broke out at a tile manufacturing unit in an industrial zone in north Khartoum.

Police cordoned off the entire area, an AFP correspondent reported from the scene.

A doctors committee linked to the country's protest movement said at least 16 people were killed and more than 90 injured.

The casualties were taken to several hospitals in the capital, it said, urging off-duty doctors to help out.

State television reported "heavy losses of life and property".

"The explosion was loud. Several cars that were parked in the compound of the factory also caught fire," an employee of an adjacent factory told AFP.

It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion.