In a televised statement to the nation, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo blamed the explosions on neighbouring farmers clearing farming land by setting it alight, leading to the explosion of improperly stored munitions on the nearby military base,[1] and said that almost all of the city's buildings had suffered damage. In the same address, he also requested international assistance. In the immediate aftermath, Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue travelled to the site of the explosion to assess the situation.[9]