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At least 13 people have died in an explosion during the disposal of expired ammunition in Indonesia’s West Java province on Monday, army officials told local media.
The cause of the blast was not immediately clear.
Members of the Indonesian army had been carrying out the disposal of unusable and expired ammunition when the initial explosion occurred, shortly followed by another blast, said Maj. Gen. Kristomei Sianturi, the Indonesian military spokesperson.
The ammunition was being stored in a military warehouse centre, in an environmental conservation area in Sagara village of the Garut district.
Nine civilians and four army members were killed, Sianturi said, adding that several other people were being treated for various injuries.
The cause of the incident is still being investigated, with a focus on whether the standard procedure for ammunition disposal was followed, Sianturi said. The investigation will include how civilians were allowed so close to the detonation site.
It occurred on vacant land under the management of West Java’s Natural Resources Conservation Agency and is a location far from residential areas and often used for munitions disposal.
However, such activities often attract the attention of nearby residents, who take metal fragments, copper or scrap iron from grenades and mortars, Sianturi said, “And there might be an unexpected second explosion after that.”
The area has been cleared to ensure safety in case of further explosions.
Local television footage showed an explosion lighting up the sky and thick black smoke, followed by a second blast a few minutes later. Another video showed ambulances evacuating the injured victims and the dead.
Monday's blast is the second incident involving Indonesian military ammunition in little over a year.
In March last year, a massive fire broke out at an Indonesian military depot storing expired ammunition near Jakarta, causing a series of explosions.
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