Deputy Minister of the Armed Forces, Major General Radhamés Ramírez Ferreira attributed to negligence on behalf of the military delays in removing obsolete war munitions from the San Cristóbal deposit. He said that the military knew the deposit was in danger of exploding, which it did yesterday. San Cristóbal is a city of more than 400,000 inhabitants located about half an hour drive from Santo Domingo, capital of the DR. Yesterday at 6:40 am the deposit went off, sending a blast of mortar shells, grenades and debris through a radium of one kilometer that broke windows, tumbled homes, killed one 63-year old woman and injured several others, some seriously. The Red Cross reported 30 persons were injured. Major General Ramírez said that the military would assume the costs of the necessary repairs. "We deeply lament any damage caused to citizens," he said. El Siglo reported that 74 houses were affected, 16 suffering major destruction. Glass windows were shattered in radium of one kilometer. The blast also caused destruction in seven public buildings, including three schools. More than 20 stores were affected, two suffering major destruction. Major General Ramírez urged the population of San Cristóbal to not touch any weapons that may have found and to report these findings to the authorities. "Anyone who finds a grenade should advise us and we will go pick it up. Nobody should try to set fire to it because the grenades contain explosives," he said. Civil Defense director, Rear Admiral Radhamés Lora Salcedo recommended that people not return to their homes in the vicinity of the explosion for several days. He rejected sending personnel into the area to determine the status of the explosion and prefers to wait several days prior to investigating at the site. Major General Ramírez said that preliminary investigations showed that the explosion originated when mortar shells in bad condition were affected by high temperature vapors, sparking a fire that consumed the wooden shelves on which the munitions were stacked. One woman, Santa Eduviges Aquino of 63 years old, died as she made a run for coverage and two persons suffered limb mutilations due to the explosions, as per news reports. The president of the Senate announced the granting of a pension for the family of Aquino family. Aquino lived about a kilometer from the explosion and was hit by a grenade in her face. She was mother to a San Cristóbal journalist. News reports say another woman, Alminda Alcántara de Brito, 80 years old, was in serious condition after being toppled by one of the walls of her home that fell due due to a strenuous blast that occurred around 8 am. Her left arm was amputated. El Siglo sources say in the deposit there were about 1,000 grenades or shells several measuring 60 centimeters long and 20 centimeters wide. More than 500,000 bullets for M-50 rifles, and anti-air raid artillery as well as small munitions were kept in the deposit described as of medium-size. Minister of Interior and Police Rafael Suberví Bonilla said that the same study that recommended the destruction of the munitions stock also recommended the relocating of the 28 jails located within city military barracks and headquarters. News reports say that about 30 of the 700 inmates of the Fortaleza jail escaped when the windows shattered on the bus they were being evacuated to the San Cristóbal Baseball Stadium. Some were arrested, others are still fugitive.
