'IRGC military base blast kills 17'
Sat Nov 12, 2011 5:23PM
LAST UPDATE
Head of the IRGC Public Relations Department Lieutenant General Ramezan Sharif
A senior official of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps says 17 people have been killed in a blast at an IRGC military base in the western part of the Iranian capital, Tehran.
Sixteen individuals have been injured in the blast and some of them are in critical condition, Lieutenant General Ramezan Sharif said.
Earlier reports had put the number of people who lost their lives in the blast at 27.
Sharif cited the “relocation of ammunition” as the cause of the accident, IRNA reported on Saturday.
The incident took place around 1 p.m. local time (0730 GMT) when a munitions depot caught fire at an IRGC military base in Bidgeneh village -- located on the outskirts of Shahryar city and about 35 kilometers (21 miles) west of Tehran.
The shockwave released by the explosion shattered windowpanes and inflicted damage on a number of buildings in the area.
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