UPDATE 1-Dozens hurt, town evacuated after Kazakh munitions depot blasts

The Kazakh government ordered the evacuation of a town of 44,000 on Monday after a series of blasts at a nearby munitions depot injured 31 people, the Central Asian nation's authorities said.

The blasts occurred at a military base near Arys in the former Soviet republic's southern Turkestan province. The cause of them was unclear. Videos posted by local residents showed frightened people staring at a giant cloud of smoke and dust rising from the site, accompanied by thunder-like noise of more munitions exploding.

Another video showed soldiers escorting women out of the military base and trying to hail passing vehicles to take them away, while others yell at them to get on the ground. An aide to the provincial governor wrote on his Facebook page that 31 people have been injured.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev wrote on Twitter he had ordered the government to ensure the safety of the local population and investigate the cause of the blasts.