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Explosion at army ammo depot in West Java affected 65 tons of munitions

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Indonesian army personnel are trying to defuse material suspected to be leftover explosives and ammunition resulting from the explosion of a munitions warehouse in Bogor Regency, West Java, Sunday (31/3/2024). (Photo: ANTARA/Aditya Pradana Putra)

 

VOInews, Jakarta: Commander of the Indonesian National Military (TNI), General Agus Subiyanto confirmed that 65 tons of expired munitions have been affected by the fire and explosion that engulfed the Army ammunition depot in Ciangsana, Bogor Regency, West Java on Saturday (30/1/2024). He said munitions stored at the depot originated from several units within the Jakarta Regional Military Command (Kodam Jaya).

"There are small- and large-caliber munitions (at the depot), and the total munitions there is 65 tons," Subiyanto stated in Jakarta on Sunday (31/3/2024), as reported by Antara.

 

General Subiyanto explained that expired munitions are returned and collected to the depot for checks, verification, and other steps until their disposal. However, he did not yet divulge the total financial losses incurred by the state due to the incident.

 

"Our disposal facility is in Pameungpeuk (Garut Regency, West Java)," he said.

 

Meanwhile, Subiyanto confirmed that the military, especially the Kodam Jaya, is still combing the accident site after the fire on the ammunition depot was brought under control at 3:45 a.m. local time. He added that the unit is also examining residential areas possibly affected by the explosion. He expect residents who found debris or bullet casings to report to the authorities immediately.

 

"For the post-explosion measure, the Jakarta Regional Military Commander, assisted by the explosives defusion unit and the military police, are combing and cleaning the site," he said.

 

Earlier, East Jakarta Fire Mitigation and Rescue Service confirmed the cooling process for parts of the Army ammunition depot in Ciangsana burned on Saturday was completed on Sunday at 8:15 a.m. The agency's Operation Section Chief, Gatot Sulaeman, said the cooling to depots no. 5 and no. 6 affected by the conflagration and explosion took eight to 10 hours. He also said no further explosion occurred during the cooling process at the ammunition depot.

 

Meanwhile, Chief of Indonesian Army Staff, General Maruli Simanjuntak in a written statement on Monday (1/4) apologized to the community around the depot for the incident. He said that the army would evaluate all ammunition depots in the area.

 

Maruli admitted that it was quite risky for the TNI to store flammable materials in the area. However, he was very grateful that there were no fatalities as a result of this incident.

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