At least 13 people were killed on Monday, nine of them civilians, in an explosion that occurred while the Indonesian army was destroying spent ammunition, officials said. The explosion occurred in Garut district in West Java province, about 300 kilometers from the capital Jakarta.
“There was a sudden explosion while dumping explosives into a pit. It killed 13 people,” said army spokesman Wahyu Yudhayana.
He told a news conference that two previous batches of ammunition had been successfully destroyed, but the accident occurred during the third batch.
Four of the dead were soldiers, the spokesman said. It was not clear why civilians were present at the time of the explosion.
The army said it had used the site for ammunition disposal several times before.
Spokesperson Yudhayana said, “We will conduct a full investigation into the incident.”
Last year, multiple explosions rocked a military ammunition depot on the outskirts of Jakarta. Residents were evacuated after the fire spread. However, no casualties were reported.