Pondok Dayung Ammunition Blast not as Severe as in Cilandak

Jakarta (Antara) - The Naval chief of information division, Commodore Untung Suropati, said Wednesday's blast at the Naval ammunition depot in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, was not as severe as the depot explosion in Cilandak in 1984. "The (ammunition) cases are similar, but the effects are different and the ammunition explosion in Pondok Dayung, Tanjung Priok was not as large as in Cilandak (on October 30, 1984)," Untung said here on Wednesday. According to Untung, the explosion in Cilandak was more powerful because the Naval warehouse there is larger, and the type of ammunition stored there included large-caliber ammunition. "The ammunition stored in Pondok Dayung was for special weapons belonging to Kopaska (frogmen unit) members, including light weapons such as handguns and long-barreled weapons," Untung disclosed. Meanwhile, Naval Chief of Staff Admiral Marsetio announced that the Navy is investigating the cause of the explosion at its depot in Tanjung Priok. "We are still investigating it. We have just received a report about it," he noted at Merak port in Banten province on Wednesday. Admiral Marsetio was at Merak port to accompany President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during a roll call of the National Search and Rescue (SAR) Board held to mark its 42nd anniversary. He pointed out that the explosion will not disrupt the Navy`s operations. "This is only part of the ammunition at the depot," he explained. The ammunition kept at the depot was for light weapons, he added. The ammunition depot of the Western Indonesian Fleet Command`s frogmen unit in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, exploded at around 10 a.m. on Wednesday, causing dozens of injuries. (*)