Cause of ammunition depot blast was negligence: report

The cause of an explosion at a munitions depot that killed 25 soldiers on Sept. 5 in the western province of Afyonkarahisar was negligence, according to the initial report prepared by bomb technicians who investigated the scene, daily Zaman has reported. 

Hand grenades and cannon balls, which should not be situated in the same place, were being stocking up together in the depot, the report said. The detonators of the grenades and the fuses of the cannon balls were mistakenly attached during the delivery. 

The blast reportedly erupted when a 105mm cannon ball fell to the ground. The intensity of the blast was fed by all the other grenades and balls with their attachments on. 

Around 100,000 hand grenades exploded due to the first blast, while 15,000 of them are estimated to be under the soil. Around 5,000 grenades have been retrieved from the area during search operations. 

Some 67 cannon balls that were not affected by the explosion were also unearthed.

Turkish Armed Forces say soldiers in ammunition blast were specialists

The soldiers stocking grenades in a depot when an explosion killed 25 were authorized specialists, the Turkish Armed Forces said, responding to claims that they had been "newly appointed,"  broadcaster NTV reported today.

Fifteen of the 25 soldiers killed in the incident in the western province of Afyonkarahisar had been serving short-term military service for one month and were responsible for carrying ammunition to the depot without going inside, the statement said.

Two non-commissioned officers, two special sergeants and three or four long-term soldiers were working inside the depot to sort and stock the ammunition, according to the statement.

The statement also included witness statements saying the soldiers had continued working to complete the task after the sky got dark.

Sweden on nuclear facility alert as explosives found at plant

Sweden has raised the alert at all its nuclear facilities after bomb sniffer dogs discovered an explosive device in the back of a truck near Stockholm’s Ringhals atomic power station. Police are investigating the incident.

Although the device lacked a detonator, officers have evacuated the area around the truck and are questioning the driver. Initial reports point to sabotage, with no immediate suspects.

Police spokesman Tommy Nyman said the driver was unaware of the explosives.

“An outsider has obviously placed them on the truck…we're talking to the truck driver and are trying to map out her movements within the premises throughout the day,” Nyman said.

Swedish bomb technicians noted that due to the lack of a detonator, there was no immediate risk of explosion. Furthermore, officials from the Ringhals power plant say that even had the explosives gone off, they would not have posed any threat to the reactor.

“Under the first step onto the truck there is a fire extinguisher and that is where the explosive had been placed,” Gosta Larsen, Head of Communication at the Ringhals plant, told the Swedish news source TT, adding that the discovery was “worrying”.

Officials say the device was like "the size of a small fist, shaped like a plastic explosive". It was discovered during a routine check.