By PAULINE JELINEK
Associated Press
HAWTHORNE, Nev.
(AP) -- A mortar shell explosion killed seven Marines and injured a
half-dozen more during a training exercise in Nevada's high desert,
prompting the Pentagon to immediately halt the use of the weapon
worldwide until an investigation can determine its safety, a military
official said Tuesday.
The explosion occurred
Monday night at the Hawthorne Army Depot, a facility used by troops
heading overseas, during an exercise involving the 2nd Marine
Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Several Marines from the unit
were injured in the blast, authorities said.
The
official said it was not immediately clear whether the 60mm mortar
shell exploded prematurely inside its firing tube or whether more than a
single round exploded. The official spoke on condition of anonymity
because the official wasn't authorized to speak about an ongoing
investigation.
Renown Regional Medical Center
in Reno, the area's major trauma hospital, took eight patients,
including one who died, five who are in serious condition, one in fair
condition, and one who has been discharged, according to spokesman Mark
Earnest.
All the patients are men under the
age of 30, he said. Hospital officials described their injuries as
penetrating trauma, fractures and vascular injuries.
The
rescue was complicated by the remoteness of the site, which is favored
because the harsh geography simulates conditions in Afghanistan. A
helicopter ride to Reno is 41 minutes long, according to Care Flight
spokesman Kurt Althof, and the distance is 2 1/2 hours by car. He said
Hawthorne and other rural communities rely on helicopters for much of
their emergency response.
"The hospitals aren't equipped to handle anything even remotely close to this event," Althof said.
The identities of those killed won't be released until 24 hours after their families are notified.
"We
send our prayers and condolences to the families of Marines involved in
this tragic incident," said the force's commander, Maj. Gen. Raymond C.
Fox. "We mourn their loss, and it is with heavy hearts we remember
their courage and sacrifice."
The 60mm mortar
is a weapon that traditionally requires three to four Marines to
operate, but it's common during training for others to observe nearby.
The firing tube is supported in a tripod-like design and fires roughly a
3-pound shell, some 14 inches in length and a bit larger than 2 inches
in diameter.
The Marine Corps official said an
explosion at the point of firing in a training exercise could kill or
maim anyone inside or nearby the protective mortar pit and could
concussively detonate any mortars stored nearby in a phenomenon known as
"sympathetic detonation."
The official did
not know whether the seven dead Marines and several others who were hurt
were in the same firing pit, standing nearby for training observation
or in an adjoining mortar pit, but any of those situations would have
been them in danger after such an explosion.
The
official said a worldwide moratorium after such an accident is not
unusual and would persist until the investigation determines that the
weapon did not malfunction in ways that would hurt other Marines or that
mortars manufactured at the same time as the one involved in the
accident were safe to continue to use.
The
official said it would be normal to warn other U.S. military branches
that use 60mm mortars, such as the Army, about the Marines warning. The
moratorium could last for weeks or months.
The
investigation will focus on whether the Marines followed procedures to
properly fire the weapon, whether there was a malfunction in the firing
device or in the explosive mortar itself, the official said.
The
Hawthorne Army Depot stores and disposes of ammunition. The facility is
made up of hundreds of buildings spread over more than 230 square
miles, and bunkers dot the sagebrush-covered hills visible from the
highway. Snow-capped mountains jut up in the east.
Hawthorne
has held an important place in American military history since World
War II when it became the staging area for ammunition, bombs and rockets
for the war. The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection says that
the depot employed more than 5,500 people at its peak. Nevada was chosen
for the location because of its remoteness in the wake of a devastating
explosion at the government's main depot in New Jersey in the 1920s.
It
opened in September 1930 as the Naval Ammunition Depot Hawthorne and
was redesignated Hawthorne Army Ammunition Plant in 1977 when it moved
under the control of the Army, according to its website. In 1994, the
site ended its production mission and became Hawthorne Army Depot. The
site currently serves several purposes for the military, including
storing ammunition and explosives and providing what the military calls
an ideal training facility for special forces preparing for deployments
to similar desert terrain.
Nevada and North Carolina political leaders expressed their sympathy.
Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., gave his condolences to victims of
the explosion during a Tuesday morning speech on the Senate floor.
Nevada Republican Sen. Dean Heller tweeted, "Thoughts and prayers are
with the families who lost a loved one in the Hawthorne Army Depot
explosion. Grateful for their service."
"I was
so saddened to learn about the seven Marines from Camp Lejeune who were
killed last night in Nevada," U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., said in a
statement. "My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the Marines
who were killed and those who were injured, and I will continue to
monitor the investigation so we can find out what happened and take
appropriate steps."
In the small town near the depot, a massive flag in a park across from the local war memorial waved at half-staff.
---
Bridis
reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Pauline Jelinek in
Washington and Michelle Rindels and Ken Ritter in Las Vegas contributed
to this report.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press modified.
