Expired ammunition explodes during disposal in Indonesia and kills 13 people

Jakarta, Indonesia – An explosion during the sale of expired ammunition in the Indonesian province of West Java On Monday, at least 13 people, including four soldiers, killed military officers. The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear.

Members of the Indonesian army carried out the disposal of unusable and expired ammunition, which had been kept in the AA Military Center – in an environmental protection area in the village of Sagara in the district of Garut. The first explosion followed another explosion, said Major General Kristomei Sianturi, the Indonesian military spokesman.

Nine civilians and four army members were killed, said Santuri and added that several other people were treated for various injuries.

The cause of the incident is still being examined, with the focus on whether the standard procedure for ammunition disposal was observed, said Santuri. The location – Free Land under the administration of the natural resource protection authority of West Java – is far away from residential areas and is often used for the disposal of ammunition.

However, such activities often attract the attention of the nearby residents who often take metal fragments, copper or scrap from grenades and mortars, said Sianturi: “And then there could be an unexpected second explosion.”

Local television films showed an explosion that illuminated the sky and thick black smoke, followed by a second explosion a few minutes later. Another video showed ambulance that evacuated the injured victims and the dead.