A huge explosion rocked a Jordanian military arms depot early Friday sparking a large fire at the base located in an uninhabited area.
The blast was accidental and likely caused by a chemical reaction inside a shell amid a blistering heatwave in the desert country, according to the millitary.
"An explosion occurred in the early hours of Friday ... in a warehouse containing unusable mortar bombs belonging to the armed forces," government spokesman Amjad al-Adaileh said in a statement.
The army said there were no casualties. The blast happened in the city of Zarqa, 25 kilometres (15 miles) east of the capital Amman, where several Jordanian bases and depots are located.
Images which swiftly spread on social media showed a huge ball of flames rising into the night sky, followed by several more explosions, AFP reported.
The army, which closed off the area, acknowledged that there had been an explosion "in one of the ammunition depots which is being dismantled near the city of Zarqa".
Preliminary findings indicated that "the explosion was due to high temperatures provoking a chemical reaction in a shell", the military said in a statement.
Jordan has over the past week seen temperatures soar above 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit) in some regions.
The area around the explosion has been "completely combed to ensure that there is no further danger, and the situation is under control," General Imad al-Khamaysseh told state television.
Zarqa governorate, which has a population of about 1.5 million, has witnessed several explosions in past years, mainly caused by old munitions and fires in warehouses. It is also home to many factories and a free trade zone.
The explosion came only days after Jordan revealed plans to reinstate military service for unemployed men between the ages of 25 and 29.
