efq
15-03-2008, 09:40 PM
At least four people have been killed and dozens of others are feared dead after a series of massive explosions at an Albanian army base.
http://static.sky.com/images/pictures/1660858.jpg Massive blast at base
Around 200 people were injured, many of them civilians, in the enormous shockwaves that hit nearby villages and cars.
They damaged the city's nearby international airport, and blew out windows in houses six miles away.
The first explosion set off a number of further blasts in ammunition stored at the army depot near Tirana.
The incident is believed to have begun while three teams of Albanian and US specialists were dismantling munitions stored at the base.
It was a central collection point for the arsenal amassed by Albania's Stalinist-era dictatorship.
http://static.sky.com/images/pictures/1660835.jpg Policeman watches smoke billowing from explosion
Local journalist Altin Kodra told Sky News: "The area has been pulverised (http://video.news.sky.com/skynews/video/?&videoSourceID=1309440&flashURL=/feeds/skynews/latest/flash/albania_150308_1500.flv)."
A Reuters cameraman at the scene said: "Terrified people are leaving the area on foot along the highway, women and children.
"Cars with broken windows have been abandoned on the highway."
Arlinda Causholli, a spokeswoman for Tirana Airport, said windows and glass doors were shattered.
"We evacuated passengers from the affected area and suspended flights for around 30 minutes," she said.
A doctor at the Tirana military hospital compared the flood of people with "a toll of war," and appealed for people to donate blood.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1309436,00.html
http://static.sky.com/images/pictures/1660858.jpg Massive blast at base
Around 200 people were injured, many of them civilians, in the enormous shockwaves that hit nearby villages and cars.
They damaged the city's nearby international airport, and blew out windows in houses six miles away.
The first explosion set off a number of further blasts in ammunition stored at the army depot near Tirana.
The incident is believed to have begun while three teams of Albanian and US specialists were dismantling munitions stored at the base.
It was a central collection point for the arsenal amassed by Albania's Stalinist-era dictatorship.
http://static.sky.com/images/pictures/1660835.jpg Policeman watches smoke billowing from explosion
Local journalist Altin Kodra told Sky News: "The area has been pulverised (http://video.news.sky.com/skynews/video/?&videoSourceID=1309440&flashURL=/feeds/skynews/latest/flash/albania_150308_1500.flv)."
A Reuters cameraman at the scene said: "Terrified people are leaving the area on foot along the highway, women and children.
"Cars with broken windows have been abandoned on the highway."
Arlinda Causholli, a spokeswoman for Tirana Airport, said windows and glass doors were shattered.
"We evacuated passengers from the affected area and suspended flights for around 30 minutes," she said.
A doctor at the Tirana military hospital compared the flood of people with "a toll of war," and appealed for people to donate blood.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1309436,00.html