The 2012 Afyonkarahisar arsenal explosion occurred at 21:15 local time on 5 September 2012 in

Afyonkarahisar Afyonkarahisar (, tr, afyon "poppy, opium", ''kara'' "black", ''hisar'' "fortress") is a city in western Turkey, the capital of Afyon Province. Afyon is in the mountainous countryside inland from the Aegean coast, south-west of Ankara along t ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. According to

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK) are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish Armed Forces consist of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Forces. The current Ch ...

, 25 servicemen died, four other soldiers and three civilians were injured by the accident. A fire at the locality followed the explosion. The remains of two noncommissioned officers, two special sergeants and 21 privates were recovered after the fire was extinguished. The explosion occurred during classification works in the depot. Ammunition was transported from a depot of the 44th Ammunition Company in

Susurluk Susurluk is a small town and a district of Balıkesir Province in northwestern Turkey. It is famous for its production of soap and dairy products. The highway from İstanbul to İzmir passes through Susurluk. In Turkey Susurluk is known for its 't ...

Balıkesir Balıkesir () is a city in Turkey and is the capital city of Balıkesir Province. Balıkesir is located in the Marmara region of Turkey and has a population of 338,936. Between 1341–1922, it was the capital of Karasi. History Close to ...

to Afyonkarahisar by train, and from the train station in the city to the facility by civilian trucks. The arsenal commander ordered the completion of tally and classification works before a scheduled official inspection in ten days time. For that reason, works in the depot continued in the night although any work in the arsenal depots is not allowed in the darkness due to lack of lighting in those facilities. During the accident time, the depot's inside was being illuminated by the light beam from the headlamps of a truck parked before the depot gate, by flashlights and possibly by lighters. The reason for the explosion was thought to be that one of grenades exploded accidentally and others exploded sequentially. Military authorities said that soldiers tallied in the arsenal depot since a couple of days. The Prime Minister announced that four commanders of the facility were removed from their post and appointed to other military units. The depot no. 32, at which the explosion took place, was within the 41st Ammunition Company of the 4th Munition Division at the 500th Arsenal Command of the Turkish Army Corps of Engineers. The officers stationed at the site told during the hearing before the military prosecutor that 248 tonnes hand grenades and 360 tonnes ammunition were tried to be piled in two depots instead of in five depots as required. The investigation was carried out by a military prosecutor from the 1st Tactical

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ar ...

Command in

Eskişehir Eskişehir ( , ; from "old" and "city") is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. The urban population of the city is 898,369 with a metropolitan population of 797,708. The city is located on the banks of the ...

, which is in command of the facility in Afyonkarahisar. The military court ruled the detention of a major, and the trial of two other officers in the rank of a colonel and a first lieutenant without arrest. The major is accused of

involuntary manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ...

. The military prosecutor stated that no evidence could be found showing that the explosion was a result of terrorism or sabotage.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Afyonkarahisar arsenal explosion Explosions in 2012 Explosions in Turkey 2012 in Turkey History of Afyonkarahisar 2012 industrial disasters Military history of Turkey 2012 disasters in Turkey