The Defence Ministry will do its utmost to have a grenade blast that took place on Tuesday properly investigated and the cause of the accident determined, said ministry state secretary Milos Koterec. “What we care about most at the moment is for the injured gentleman to recover.
His medical condition has stabilised and he's been transported to the Faculty Hospital in Martin,” said Koterec. Earlier in the day, the 36-year-old civilian employee of VOP's centre for grenade testing sustained injuries during a URG-86 grenade test. His condition was serious, with injuries to his abdomen, head and arm. The accident is now under investigation by the military police. The company has been plagued by uncontrolled explosions over the past few years. Eight people were killed and another 37 were injured at VOP when a large amount of ammunition exploded at the company's defusing hall in March 2007. Five years later, one person was killed and three people sustained minor injuries in a grenade explosion in the military area adjacent to VOP.
According to Chief-of-General-Staff of the Slovak Armed Forces Peter Vojtek, all the grenades tested on Tuesday were checked the previous day by X-ray, and their mechanical parts were deemed to be in order. “Practical tests of grenades were carried out today. Overall, 23 grenades were tested and passed as being in order. It was likely that when the 24th grenade was being thrown when the explosive ignited. The employee had all the protective equipment and all protective measures were observed. Nonetheless, he suffered injuries,” said Vojtek. “Experts will now look into how the grenade could have ignited when all the mechanical parts were intact in their proper place,” said Vojtek, who added that the likely outcome of the investigation will be an army ban on the use of this particular type of grenade, with the remaining 130,000 grenades being incinerated.
