The cause was not immediately known and the government ordered an
investigation by the police criminal investigation department.
Islamic State claims responsibility for deadly Syria bomb attacks(Reuters)
One soldier was killed and
thousands of people were evacuated after a fire and a series of
explosions on Sunday, June 5, at one of Sri Lanka's biggest ammunition dumps, where the army stores heavy weapons, officials said.
Explosions at the army camp at Salawa, 33 km (20 miles) east of the capital Colombo, continued for more than five hours and were heard more than 12 km away, local residents said.
The cause was not immediately known and the government ordered an investigation by the police criminal investigation department.
Local television stations showed rocket propelled grenade (RPG) shells and shrapnel that had landed in the middle of a road.
"The
fire started in a small arms store and spread. There were heavy weapons
such as artillery shells stored in the proximity but the damage is
still unknown," Sagala Ratnayake, minister of law and order, told media.
One soldier was killed and one injured in the blasts, an army spokesman said.
Sources
from two nearby hospitals said at least five people were being treated
for injuries. The soldier died on admission due to loss of blood, they
said.
Pradeep Koddipily, spokesman for Sri Lanka's
Disaster Management Centre, said residents living in a 5 km radius had
been asked to evacuate immediately. Thousands of people have already
been evacuated fearing explosions.
Rohitha
Fernando, chief operating officer at Colombo Fire Brigade, said
firefighters could not reach the site due to the intensity of the
explosions.
"None of the trucks has entered the camp as it's not safe to go inside. We have not handled this magnitude of armoury fire," he told Reuters.
Since
the end of a 26-year war against Tamil separatist guerrillas seven
years ago, Sri Lanka's military has stored its weapons in a few
armouries around the country. Army spokesman Jayanath Jayaweera said the
Salawa armoury was one of the largest in the island nation.
The
main road in front of the camp, which thousands of workers take to go
to and from Colombo, has been closed to traffic. The government ordered
all schools and government offices in the area to remain closed on
Monday.
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