Albanian Trag

Rescuers near Albanian blast site

Explosions continued after dark


Blast footage
Rescue workers in Albania are resuming their attempts to reach the site of massive explosions at an arms dump that killed at least five people.
More than 240 others were injured in the blast, which struck outside Gerdec village near the capital, Tirana.

Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha said the death toll might rise.

Rescuers had not reached the main blast by nightfall on Saturday, as ammunition continued to explode, but resumed their attempts at daybreak on Sunday.

It was unclear how many people were working at the site when the explosions began - estimates varied from about 60 to 80 - or how many might be unaccounted for.

The problem of ammunition in Albania is one of the gravest, and a continuous threat

Prime Minister Sali Berisha

But the prime minister said on Saturday that five "is not the final number of the dead, there might be others. The search will resume at daylight".

Explosions continued into the night, but went quiet at about 0200 (0100 GMT), the Associated Press reported.

The accident happened as specialists were dismantling obsolete munitions at the site - some of the vast quantity amassed during Albania's communist years, and some dating back to 1945.

The explosions caused damage to a wide surrounding area, including Tirana's nearby international airport, and were heard more than 170km (100 miles) away in the Macedonian capital Skopje.

Homes destroyed

Hospitals have taken in injured people suffering burns, concussion, broken limbs and cuts from flying glass and shrapnel.

Juela Mecani, a spokeswoman for Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha, said a number of homes near the depot had been "completely destroyed".

Some 4,000 people were evacuated from neighbouring villages, some in armoured personnel carriers.

Mr Berisha's office quoted witnesses as saying the initial explosion was smaller than subsequent blasts, allowing many of the estimated 110 workers on the site to escape.

In pictures: Albania blasts
'Shrapnel falling from sky'

"Ten minutes passed before the biggest blast and many workers used this time to flee," its statement said.

Mr Berisha promised an official inquiry into the accident after visiting victims in hospitals in Tirana.

"The problem of ammunition in Albania is one of the gravest, and a continuous threat," Mr Berisha said.

"There is a colossal, crazy amount of it dating back to 1945."

Aid offered

The base was a central collection point for an arsenal amassed by Albania's former communist dictatorship.


Albania has been offered international medical and other aid

Albania has about 100,000 tons of excess ammunition stored in former army depots across the country, according to Defence Minister Fatmir Mediu.

The military experts at the base where the blasts occurred were being assisted by employees of a US company contracted by Nato to help the Albanian army dispose of surplus munitions.

There were no reports of foreigners having been on the site at the time of the blasts.

Countries including the US, Italy, Swiss, Macedonia, Turkey and Kosovo have offered medical and other aid to the Albanian authorities in the wake of the explosions.