Explosion at Army ammo depot affected 65 tons of munitions

Bogor, West Java (bingcinemanews) - Indonesian Defence Forces (TNI) Commander General Agus Subiyanto confirmed that 65 tons of expired munitions have been affected by the recent fire and explosion that engulfed the Army ammunition depot in Ciangsana, Bogor District, West Java.

"There are small- and large-calibre munitions (at the depot), and the total munitions there is 65 tons," Subiyanto stated here, on Sunday.

He said munitions stored at the depot originated from several units within the Jakarta Regional Military Command (Kodam Jaya).

"Expired munitions are returned and collected here for checks, verification, and other steps until their disposal. Our disposal facility is in Pameungpeuk (Garut District, West Java)," he said.

However, the TNI commander did not yet divulge the total financial losses incurred by the state due to the incident.

Meanwhile, Subiyanto confirmed that the military is still combing the accident site after the fire on the ammunition depot was brought under control at 3:45 a.m. local time.

"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.

The military territorial unit is also examining residential areas possibly affected by the explosion, he noted.

"We also expect residents who found debris or bullet casings to report to the authorities immediately," Subiyanto added.

Earlier, East Jakarta Fire Mitigation and Rescue Service confirmed the cooling process for parts of the Army ammunition depot in Ciangsana burned on Saturday (March 30) evening 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.