24 soldiers hurt in Colombia army base blast
May 24th, 2010 - 6:31 am ICT by IANSBogota, May 24 (IANS/EFE) A grenade went off accidentally, wounding 24 soldiers at an army base in central Colombia, officials said.
The blast at the Tolemaida military base in Melgar town could have been an accident, armed forces commander Gen. Freddy Padilla de Leon said Sunday.
“Nothing is clear yet, but the most probable theory is that it was an accident. There is a soldier who says he saw another soldier came out of the bathroom and dropped a grenade,” Padilla de Leon said in Cartagena city.
The injured men belong to the Rapid Deployment Force Battalion that specialises in jungle fighting against guerrillas.
The wounded soldiers have been admitted to a hospital and investigators have been sent to the base to determine the causes of the explosion.
–IANS/EFE
pm
- Grenade blast kills 3 soldiers in Colombia - Feb 24, 2011
- Three die in grenade blast in Colombia - Feb 27, 2012
- 12 Colombian rebels killed - Jul 12, 2010
- Bomb strapped to horse wounds two Colombian soldiers - Jul 12, 2011
- Colombian rebels say they are holding French reporter - May 07, 2012
- Colombian rebels set condition for freeing French reporter - May 08, 2012
- 17 cocaine labs destroyed in Colombia - Jan 26, 2012
- Nine survive military helicopter crash in Colombia - Dec 05, 2011
- Five killed in Spanish military base blast - Feb 25, 2011
- Kidnapped Colombian politician found dead - Dec 23, 2009
- 2,000 land mines found in Colombia in 2011 - Sep 19, 2011
- Colombian rebels say they're holding French reporter - May 02, 2012
- Colombia names Silva as defence minister - Jul 28, 2009
- Colombia beauty barred from contest (Lead) - Aug 10, 2011
- 13 Colombian rebels killed in airstrike - Nov 16, 2010
Tags: armed forces, army base, battalion, bogota, central colombia, de leon, efe, explosion, freddy, grenade, guerrillas, investigators, jungle, may 24, military base, padilla, rapid deployment force, soldier, wounded soldiers