ALBANIA: About 160 people including several Americans killed or injured by explosions at an Albanian army base

Record ID: 359200

  • Title: ALBANIA: About 160 people including several Americans killed or injured by explosions at an Albanian army base
  • Date: 16th March 2008
  • Summary: (FLASH 1526GMT) TIRANA, ALBANIA (MARCH 15, 2008) (REUTERS) (AUDIO EXPLOSIONS) SMOKE IN THE AREA OF THE EXPLOSION, HOUSES IN THE BACKGROUND AMBULANCES, POLICE AND ARMY VEHICLES ON ROAD SMOKE NEAR THE EXPLOSION AREA BROKEN VAN WINDSCREEN VARIOUS OF MILITARY POLICE ON ROAD BROKEN TRUCK WINDSCREEN VARIOUS OF FIRE ENGINES HEADING FOR AREA VARIOUS OF AMBULANCES MILITARY POL
  • Embargoed: 31st March 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Albania
  • Country: Albania
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVABFJPN9PC71ZPZ0ZSYO5PQC31C
  • Story Text: About 160 people, including several Americans, are killed or injured in a series of large explosions at an Albanian army base on the outskirts of the capital Tirana.
    About 160 people, including several Americans, were killed or injured on Saturday (March 15) in a series of large explosions at an Albanian army base on the outskirts of the capital Tirana, government officials said.
    The explosions are believed to have begun while three teams were dismantling munitions stored at the base.
    Albania has to dismantle its obsolete Stalinist-era arsenal and modernise its armed forces to qualify it for an invitation to join the western military alliance NATO next month.

    "We do not know the exact number (of casualties)," Prime Minister Sali Berisha's spokeswoman Juela Mecani told Reuters, "but we fear the worst for the three teams, each of 21 people, working there at the time. Several were U.S. citizens."
    The U.S. embassy in Tirana told Reuters it could not confirm the presence of U.S. military personnel at the site.
    Injured people were being taken to nearby hospitals. Local media reports said most had suffered burns, concussion, broken limbs, or were hurt by flying glass and shrapnel.
    Five people were reported to be in a coma. Tirana residents were rushing to hospitals to donate blood, local media said.
    Some reports said residents from the nearby village of Gerdec had taken shelter in concrete bunkers built by late Stalinist dictator Enver Hoxha, while others fled to the hills.
    The explosions were so powerful they were felt in Tirana and the seaside resort of Durres, 20 km (12 miles) from the base.
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