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Posted: 5/13/2004 7:31:05 AM EDT
Anyone want to bet that Vodka was a factor too!


Smoking Soldiers Ignited Ammo Disaster

2 hours, 30 minutes ago

Add Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo!

KIEV (Reuters) - Two smoking soldiers set off tons of ammunition that killed five people, caused $725 million in damage and sent debris showering across southern Ukraine last week, the emergencies minister said on Tuesday.



A series of blasts hurled debris as far as 25 miles after fire broke out last Thursday at a warehouse complex where 92,000 tons of artillery ammunition was stored.

Blasts were still heard on Tuesday, emergencies minister Hryhory Reva told parliament.

"At about 12 o'clock on Thursday, two servicemen, who were stocking military ammunition, began smoking at their working site. It caused the fire and set off the explosions," he said.

The blasts caused some $725 million in damage to the defense ministry and population in the Zaporizhya region, he said. They destroyed buildings in a two-mile radius, including a local railway station.

A minor gas pipeline was also damaged. Metal fragments and other debris were thrown 40 km, causing fires in nearby towns.

Authorities evacuated some 7,000 people from the surrounding area. People started to return home on Tuesday, five days after the initial blasts.

Some parliamentary deputies have demanded Defense Minister Evhen Marchuk resign because of his inability to turn around the ex-Soviet state's struggling armed forces.

The Ukrainian army has seen its reputation battered in recent years following a series of disasters.

Link Posted: 5/13/2004 7:35:46 AM EDT
[#1]
Wahdka, mmmmmmmm................
Waaaahdka................
Link Posted: 5/13/2004 7:43:24 AM EDT
[#2]
Now how can they say it was 2 GI's that caused this?????
I'm sure ground zero is a big hole and the GI's would not be identifiable.
Link Posted: 5/13/2004 7:48:22 AM EDT
[#3]
This seems to be a fairly regular Russian occurence.... can't say that I'm surprised... just the latest in their little incidences.....
Link Posted: 5/13/2004 8:02:24 AM EDT
[#4]


my friend posed for this one..
Link Posted: 5/13/2004 8:03:26 AM EDT
[#5]
Link Posted: 5/13/2004 8:08:15 AM EDT
[#6]
NOw I see the reason for  the no smoking signs around big ammo dumps or where there's a lot of flammables stored.
Link Posted: 5/13/2004 8:12:28 AM EDT
[#7]

Quoted:
NOw I see the reason for  the no smoking signs around big ammo dumps or where there's a lot of flammables stored.



Too bad that didn't happen in France, or we might actually be getting somewhere.

Wow, think of all the AR 5.56 and AK 7.62/5.45 rounds that was!

Ben
Link Posted: 5/13/2004 8:46:47 AM EDT
[#8]
Its a fairly common cover for when you sell a shitload of your ammo on the blackmarket to then blow up the dump.  

Happened multiple times in Ecuador in the last few years.  What really sucks is when the ammo that supposedly was destroyed is later captured by Govt forces in a neighboring country.   Tends to blow your cover.

Link Posted: 5/13/2004 9:02:14 AM EDT
[#9]
These things happen.
Link Posted: 5/13/2004 9:04:03 AM EDT
[#10]
40 klicks? That's a big boom.
Link Posted: 5/13/2004 9:09:50 AM EDT
[#11]

Quoted:
40 klicks? That's a big boom.



92,000 tons of Ordnance, that is a lot of Bang!!!!
Link Posted: 5/13/2004 9:22:06 AM EDT
[#12]
Some people should never be allowed to play with fire...

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