Article

2011-06-05 Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Shells were still exploding Saturday at a Russian munitions store three days after it caught fire in Udmurtia in the Volga region. The fire came just over a week after a munitions depot in the nearby region of Bashkortostan caught fire on May 26, triggering explosions that lasted several days.

The emergency ministry is using remotely controlled robots, water-bombing planes and armoured vehicles to fight the fire, since the explosions makes it too dangerous for fire engines

On Friday, Medvedev called for heads to roll at the defence ministry at a televised meeting with defence chief Anatoly Serdyukov.

"The defence ministry is disarming by blowing sky high," Kommersant daily said in a headline Saturday, criticising the defence ministry for using conscripts to handle explosives without proper training or protection.

"What happened at the Number 102 arsenal is total lawlessness and disorganisation," a source familiar with the depot told Kommersant.

"Soldiers were being exploited. They carried around the shells and gunpowder in zinc boxes without any special equipment... There was practically no training and the soldiers were carrying the shells around even at night."

A total of 76 people required medical treatment and 35 were hospitalised, five of whom have since gone home, the Udmurtia health ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Posted by Anonymoose 2011-06-05 12:00|| || Front Page|| [15 views ] Top

#1 "What happened at the Number 102 arsenal is total lawlessness and disorganisation," a source familiar with the depot told Kommersant.
"Soldiers were being exploited. They carried around the shells and gunpowder in zinc boxes without any special equipment... There was practically no training and the soldiers were carrying the shells around even at night."

The last major US accident on this scale was in 1944, and that was when the US military got serious about munitions safety. There have been accidents since, but never one that let go on the same scale. The ~~Soviets~~ Russians, however, have never lost their inshallah attitude towards ammo storage and handling, and they will continue to pay this kind of price on a regular basis until they get their heads out.

Mike

Posted by Mike Kozlowski 2011-06-05 12:50|| 2011-06-05 12:50|| Front Page Top

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