Explosion at ammunition disposal site in Indonesia kills 13
Troops were disposing of expired munitions when a blast ripped through the site, the second such incident in just over a year
The blast happened when Indonesian troops attempted to dispose of rejected munitions by detonating them in a pit in Garut district, West Java province, about 300km (190 miles) from the capital.
“While the team was arranging the detonator inside the pit, suddenly an explosion happened, causing 13 people to die,” army spokesman Wahyu Yudhayana said.
He told a press conference that two batches of ammunition had been successfully disposed of before a third attempt went wrong.
The location — vacant land in Sagara village of Garut district under the management of West Java’s Natural Resources Conservation Agency — is far from residential areas and often used for munitions disposal.
Nine of the victims were civilians while four were military personnel, military spokesman Kristomei Sianturi told Kompas TV, adding that the military was investigating the cause of the incident.