Three Turkish soldiers die in second fireworks explosion in a week

SAKARYA

Three Turkish security force members were killed on July 9 when a truck exploded in the northwest of the country as it carried explosives collected from a fireworks factory that blew up last week, the Interior Ministry said.

On July 3 a series of large explosions destroyed the fireworks factory in Sakarya province. Seven people died as a
result of their injuries.

The latest casualties were from the gendarmerie security forces carrying explosives from the factory to a stone quarry to be detonated in a controlled explosion, the ministry said.

It said the blast occurred as the explosives were being unloaded. Two of those killed were from an explosives disposal
team, it added. 12 other people were wounded.

One of the injured is in critical condition,” said Sakarya Governor Çetin Oktay Kaldırım.

Kaldırım said that after the July 3 blast in a fireworks factory in the city, Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office instructed controlled detonation of the factory’s explosives in a stone pit in Taşkısığı neighborhood of the Adapazarı district.

The blast occurred in the mountainous area while the materials were still on the truck, Kaldırım said.

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu went to the scene to inspect the incident.