2008 Gërdec explosions
Encyclopedia
The 2008 Gërdec explosions occurred at approximately noon local time on Saturday 15 March 2008 at an ex-military ammunition depot in the village of Gërdec
in the Vorë
Municipality, Albania
(14 kilometers from Tirana
). The explosions could be heard in the Macedonian
capital of Skopje
, 170 km (105.6 mi) away.
A large fire caused a series of explosions that continued until 2 a.m. on Sunday. The main explosion, involving more than 400 tons of propellant in containers, destroyed hundreds of houses within a few kilometers from the depot and broke windows in cars on the Tirana-Durrës highway. Thousands of artillery shells, most of them unexploded, littered the area. The blast shattered all the windows of the terminal building at the country's only international airport, and all flights were suspended for some 40 minutes. Some 4,000 inhabitants of the zone were evacuated and offered shelter in state-owned resorts. The Government declared the zone a disaster area
. According to subsequent investigations, a privately managed ammo dismantling process was ongoing in the area.
, an U.S. company. SAC won the contract to destroy ammunition in Albania though industrial dismantling.
SAC was contracted in 2006 by the Albanian Ministry of Defence for the deactivation of 100 million 7.62 mm bullets, 20 million 12.7 mm bullets, and 20 million 14.5 mm bullets. A second contract involved ammunition from 40 mm up to 152 mm.
After signing the contract with the MoD, SAC subcontracted the work to Alb-Demil, an Albanian subcontractor. According to news reports, SAC was repacking SALW
ammunition on behalf of AEY, Inc., which was selling the ammunition to the Afghan National Army
.
According to figures published by the Prime Minister's Office, 2,306 buildings were damaged or destroyed in the explosions. Of these, 318 houses were destroyed completely, 200 buildings were seriously damaged, and 188 buildings were less seriously damaged.
, Minister of Defence of the Republic of Albania, resigned from his governmental position.
As part of an investigation by the Albanian General Prosecution Office, authorities issued arrest orders for Mihail Delijorgji (president of the Alb-Demil Company), Ylli Pinari (director of MEICO, a state-controlled enterprise managed by the Ministry of Defence and authorized under Albanian laws to deal with the export and import of military goods), and Dritan Minxholi (an executive director with Alb-Demil).
A special group of prosecutors and investigators from Tirana, along with experts from the Albanian Ministry of Interior, the Tirana State Police, EOD specialists, military engineers and military police were said to be studying the facts of the case and collecting witnesses declarations.
The investigation group was expected to publish the names of the officials involved in the tragedy by the beginning of April 2008.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) accepted a request from the Albanian General Prosecutors Office (GPO) to assist the investigation.
Gërdec
Gërdec is a village in Albania, 11 kilometers north-west of the capital Tirana, part of the municipality Vorë. It was the site of the explosions at a military base on 15 March 2008, causing the deaths of more than 27 people and injuring over 100....
in the Vorë
Vorë
Vorë or Vora is a municipality in Tirana District, Tirana County in Albania.While small, it is located at a major road junction and railway junction.-References:...
Municipality, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
(14 kilometers from Tirana
Tirana
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
). The explosions could be heard in the Macedonian
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
capital of Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
, 170 km (105.6 mi) away.
A large fire caused a series of explosions that continued until 2 a.m. on Sunday. The main explosion, involving more than 400 tons of propellant in containers, destroyed hundreds of houses within a few kilometers from the depot and broke windows in cars on the Tirana-Durrës highway. Thousands of artillery shells, most of them unexploded, littered the area. The blast shattered all the windows of the terminal building at the country's only international airport, and all flights were suspended for some 40 minutes. Some 4,000 inhabitants of the zone were evacuated and offered shelter in state-owned resorts. The Government declared the zone a disaster area
Disaster area
A disaster area is a region or a locale heavily damaged by either natural hazards, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, earthquakes, technological hazards including nuclear and radiation accidents, or sociological hazards like riots, terrorism or war. The population living there often...
. According to subsequent investigations, a privately managed ammo dismantling process was ongoing in the area.
Possible causes
- A human errorHuman ErrorHuman Error is the stage name of Rafał Kuczynski , a polish electronic musician, working mostly in the ambient music genre, produced only with a computer...
during the work, such as lighting a cigarette or damaging a fuseFuse (explosives)In an explosive, pyrotechnic device or military munition, a fuse is the part of the device that initiates function. In common usage, the word fuse is used indiscriminately... - Improper storage of the ammunition
- The employment of untrained workers without the proper technical knowledge
- Violation of the technical security rules in the area where the destruction of ammunition took place
- SabotageSabotageSabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
- Although existing technologies were employed and adapted for the operations at Gerdec, the techniques of ammunition disposal being used at the time were, and still are (in 2010), new technologies in this field. An error made by Engineers who designed the machinery the Demilitarisation company and associates employed on the project used. A fundamental design assumption made early in the design process rendered the basic machinery potentially lethal. Researchers and Designers of the ammunition disposal kilns assumed the combustible compounds within the ammunition would burn away at 350 degrees Celsius. Documents available from the US military state, and Thermochemical and Thermodynamic calculations will verify the combustible compounds within the ammunition being disposed of at Gerdec burn to give out a heat amounting to 4500 degrees Celsius. Such an energy would, without further sufficient and adequate designed machine components, lead to vaporization and explosion of the machines used to dispose of the ammunition dumps.
Contracts
The repacking/dismantling of ammunition at the dump was being carried out by an Albanian company that had been subcontracted by Southern Ammunition Company Inc. (SAC) of Loris, South CarolinaLoris, South Carolina
Loris is a city in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 2,079 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Loris is located at ....
, an U.S. company. SAC won the contract to destroy ammunition in Albania though industrial dismantling.
SAC was contracted in 2006 by the Albanian Ministry of Defence for the deactivation of 100 million 7.62 mm bullets, 20 million 12.7 mm bullets, and 20 million 14.5 mm bullets. A second contract involved ammunition from 40 mm up to 152 mm.
After signing the contract with the MoD, SAC subcontracted the work to Alb-Demil, an Albanian subcontractor. According to news reports, SAC was repacking SALW
SALW
SALW is an acronym, meaning Small Arms and Light Weapons, a term used in arms control protocols to refer to two main classes of weapons:...
ammunition on behalf of AEY, Inc., which was selling the ammunition to the Afghan National Army
Afghan National Army
The Afghan National Army is a service branch of the military of Afghanistan, which is currently trained by the coalition forces to ultimately take the role in land-based military operations in Afghanistan. , the Afghan National Army is divided into seven regional Corps. The strength of the Afghan...
.
Figures
Officially, Albanian authorities confirmed 26 deaths in the explosions. Officials report the number of injured people at over 300.According to figures published by the Prime Minister's Office, 2,306 buildings were damaged or destroyed in the explosions. Of these, 318 houses were destroyed completely, 200 buildings were seriously damaged, and 188 buildings were less seriously damaged.
Political consequences & investigation
On 17 March 2008, Mr. Fatmir MediuFatmir Mediu
Fatmir Mediu is a former Albanian Minister of Defence . On March 2008, after the military ammunition explosion incident in Gërdec, where 26 people were killed, Mediu resigned and is under investigation. His successor is Gazmend Oketa.He is currently Minister of Environment, Forests & Water...
, Minister of Defence of the Republic of Albania, resigned from his governmental position.
As part of an investigation by the Albanian General Prosecution Office, authorities issued arrest orders for Mihail Delijorgji (president of the Alb-Demil Company), Ylli Pinari (director of MEICO, a state-controlled enterprise managed by the Ministry of Defence and authorized under Albanian laws to deal with the export and import of military goods), and Dritan Minxholi (an executive director with Alb-Demil).
A special group of prosecutors and investigators from Tirana, along with experts from the Albanian Ministry of Interior, the Tirana State Police, EOD specialists, military engineers and military police were said to be studying the facts of the case and collecting witnesses declarations.
The investigation group was expected to publish the names of the officials involved in the tragedy by the beginning of April 2008.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI) accepted a request from the Albanian General Prosecutors Office (GPO) to assist the investigation.