An explosion occurred Monday at an ammunition storage area within the U.S. military's Kadena Air Base in Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, resulting in injuries, local media reported.

The blast went off at a facility that belongs to Japan's Self Defense Forces (SDF) and is used to temporarily store unexploded ammunition, public broadcaster NHK reported, citing SDF sources.

At around 11:20 a.m. local time, the fire department received a report about the explosion at the SDF-managed facility and that people were injured but remained conscious.

Several SDF personnel were taken to hospital after the incident, Kyodo News said.