seruriermarshal
05-18-2004, 07:34 PM
Six soldiers charged over Ukrainian arms depot explosion
Six Ukranian soldiers have been charged over a series of devastating explosions at a weapons depot that killed five people and forced 7,000 to flee their homes, the prosecutor general said on Tuesday.
The commander of the military base where the depot was located, near the southeastern town of Melitopol, is accused of theft and abuse of power. He was arrested on May 8, two days after the incident.
He and a soldier accused of starting the fire which triggered the explosions have been jailed awaiting trial, the prosecutor general said in a statement.
Four other soldiers have been consigned to barracks.
Two of the soldiers are accused of smoking near the depot, which contained about 4,500 tonnes of ammunition, and setting a sack of gunpowder alight.
When they saw their superiors approaching they tried to put the smouldering sack out and hid it under a pile of shells, the prosecutor said.
The fire flared up shortly afterwards, setting off a series of explosions that lasted nearly a week and forced the evacuation of 7,000 people in surrounding villages.
The equivlaent of 900 wagon-loads of ammunition were destroyed by the flames, causing losses to the state of 2.25 billion hryvnas (353 million euros, 422 million dollars).
A defence ministry official reportedly linked to the disaster killed himself last week by leaping from the window of his 10th-floor flat, the media said on May 14.
The defence ministry confirmed Olexander Sundakov, the head of the ministry's logistics department, had committed suicide but denied he had been linked to the disaster, Interfax said.
But the Segodnya daily said Sundakov had been given the task of destroying the remaining ammunitions at the Melitopol base.
"According to one version, Sundakov killed himself either not to reveal a secret linked to the explosions or was pressured to commit suicide,", the newspaper said.
Prosecutors said it was too early to link the suicide with the Melitopol disaster, Interfax said.
The prosecutor general has blamed the incident on security lapses and negligence.
Six Ukranian soldiers have been charged over a series of devastating explosions at a weapons depot that killed five people and forced 7,000 to flee their homes, the prosecutor general said on Tuesday.
The commander of the military base where the depot was located, near the southeastern town of Melitopol, is accused of theft and abuse of power. He was arrested on May 8, two days after the incident.
He and a soldier accused of starting the fire which triggered the explosions have been jailed awaiting trial, the prosecutor general said in a statement.
Four other soldiers have been consigned to barracks.
Two of the soldiers are accused of smoking near the depot, which contained about 4,500 tonnes of ammunition, and setting a sack of gunpowder alight.
When they saw their superiors approaching they tried to put the smouldering sack out and hid it under a pile of shells, the prosecutor said.
The fire flared up shortly afterwards, setting off a series of explosions that lasted nearly a week and forced the evacuation of 7,000 people in surrounding villages.
The equivlaent of 900 wagon-loads of ammunition were destroyed by the flames, causing losses to the state of 2.25 billion hryvnas (353 million euros, 422 million dollars).
A defence ministry official reportedly linked to the disaster killed himself last week by leaping from the window of his 10th-floor flat, the media said on May 14.
The defence ministry confirmed Olexander Sundakov, the head of the ministry's logistics department, had committed suicide but denied he had been linked to the disaster, Interfax said.
But the Segodnya daily said Sundakov had been given the task of destroying the remaining ammunitions at the Melitopol base.
"According to one version, Sundakov killed himself either not to reveal a secret linked to the explosions or was pressured to commit suicide,", the newspaper said.
Prosecutors said it was too early to link the suicide with the Melitopol disaster, Interfax said.
The prosecutor general has blamed the incident on security lapses and negligence.