Nigerian government and army officials have launched investigations into Sunday's ammunition depot fire and explosions that caused the deaths of more than 600 deaths in the country's largest city, Lagos. Army spokesman Colonel Felix Chukwuma said Tuesday a board of inquiry has been appointed to determine the cause of the fire. The army has maintained that the incident was accidental.

President Olusegun Obasanjo, who toured the scene of the blasts on Monday, has also promised a full investigation. He said what happened to Lagos was a tragedy of "monumental" proportions. Nigerian authorities put the death toll to more than 600. But some local newspapers say the final toll could climb as high as two thousand. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has sent condolences to Nigeria expressing shock and grief. A U.N. spokesman said Tuesday Mr. Annan also offered U.N. assistance. Many of the victims were women and children who drowned in canals while trying to escape the exploding ammunition. Thousands of people have been left homeless.

The government has declared a national day of mourning for the victims of the devastating explosions. Lagos residents are demanding to know why high powered explosives were stored in the densely populated Ikeja district of the city. The commander of the Ikeja brigade, Brigadier-General George Emdin, has apologized for the incident.

Flags flew at half mast at government offices to mark the worst disaster in a decade in Nigeria's commercial capital and home to 12 million residents.

The Red Cross has set up two camps to register displaced people and provide food, water and shelter in the city.

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