US Contractor Implicated In Albania Explosions
Military experts were disposing of old shells at the time of the blasts.
They were reported to be being assisted by employees of a US company contracted by Nato to help the Albanian army dispose of surplus munitions. The explosions at the army depot in Gerdec village, some 10km north of Tirana, were heard more than 50km (30 miles) away.
The initial explosion was followed by a series of blasts, and ammunition continued to detonate for hours.
Attempts to fly rescuers into the area by helicopter were thwarted by the continuing explosions, and armoured vehicles were used to ferry rescue units into the area.
Injured people were taken to nearby hospitals. Local media reports said their injuries included burns, concussion, broken limbs, and cuts from flying glass and shrapnel.
“The number of dead is considerable,” Mr Berisha told reporters.
“There is a colossal, a crazy amount of them since 1945 until now. I do not exclude human error,” he said about Saturday’s blast, but added that the ammunition could have exploded spontaneously because of its age.
One hundred and sixty people, many of them Americans, are feared dead or injured after a series of large explosions at an army base on the outskirts of Tirana, the capital of Albania, officials have said. The US embassy in Tirana could not confirm whether US military personnel were present at the site or not.
SAIC Supports Cooperative U.S./Albania Program to Destroy Obsolete and Dangerous Munitions
Science Applications International Corporation SAI today announced it recently completed a project for the U.S. Department of State managing the disposal of 2,900 tons of obsolete and dangerous surplus munitions in the Republic of Albania. According to the State Department, the effort was completed safely and efficiently, helping to ensure the materials cannot be used by terrorists.
The Munitions Challenge in Albania
Special Fund Aids Albania-U.S. Munitions Destruction Project
Washington — The recently completed U.S.-Albania munitions destruction project marked another success in the effort for disarmament and nonproliferation of weapons.
Safety and environmental concerns were paramount in the project because it involved destroying Albania’s largest and most dangerous stockpile of surplus anti-ship mines, torpedoes and aerial bombs.
I wonder who arranged for an American contractor to get this contract? With US Military recent history of contractor corruption, why would the UN allow a US contractor participate in munitions disposal? The world is getting an overdose of American corruption. America has dumbed down and the world knows it. When you can no longer compete intellectually, you must become a corrupt bully to survive. Mourn the passing of America as we knew it. Of course, we knew it as America presented it in our well edited history books.
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March 19th, 2008 at 7:51 am
This tragedy has nothing to do with who was contracted to assist the Albanian military authorities in the destruction of unsafe munitions. The chemical composition in munitions changes over time and is accelerated by variations in temperature and moisture. This incident was exactly the type of accident the US was trying to prevent before it happened on its own, without anyone doing anything. These munitions are unstable, meaning they can just blow up anytime in spontaneous combustion. The award of the contracts to SAIC and Cubic and their British subcontractor was based upon their technical exertise, management capabilities, history of performance of the contractor, and lower cost of their proposal. The US military and NATO contracting systems are relatively corruption-free, especially compared to other countries.