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Thirteen dead after blast during military ammunition disposal
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An officer from the West Java Police collects antemortem data and DNA samples from families of the victims of the blast during a disposal of expired military ammunition, at the Pameungpeuk Hospital in Garut on May 12, 2025. (Antara/Raisan Al Farisi)
T
hirteen people died in a blast during a disposal of expired military ammunition in West Java on Monday, the second incident involving expired ammunition in the country in little over a year.
Nine of the victims were civilians while four were military personnel, Indonesian Military (TNI) spokesperson Kristomei Sianturi told Kompas TV, adding the military is investigating the cause of the incident.
The blast happened in Garut, West Java, about 300 kilometers from the capital, AFP reported.
"While the team was arranging the detonator inside the pit, suddenly an explosion happened, causing 13 people to die," said Army spokesman Wahyu Yudhayana.
He told a press conference that two batches of ammunition had been successfully disposed of before a third attempt went wrong.
Four of the victims were soldiers, he said, adding it was unclear why civilians were in the area at the time.
The military said it had used the site multiple times in the past.
"We will conduct a thorough investigation on this incident," he said.
Last year, multiple explosions ripped through a military ammunition warehouse on the outskirts of Jakarta.
Authorities had to evacuate nearby residents to safer areas as fire tore through the storage facility, but there were no casualties reported.
