Blasts Rip Arms Plant, Strew Ammo Associated Press

Three large explosions ripped through a military munitions factory in Cordoba province Friday, killing at least nine people and injuring 328.

The blasts at the army-owned plant in Rio Tercero, 435 miles northwest of Buenos Aires, scattered live ammunition and debris across nearby streets.

Minor blasts from small arms ammunition, grenades, mortar and artillery shells ignited by fire inside the plant continued sporadically throughout the day. Bomb experts halted their search at nightfall for explosive devices scattered over a wide area by the blasts.

The defense ministry said in a statement that a worker was believed to have accidentally hooked a projectile fuse on a freight lift, starting a fire that sparked the explosions.

The blasts scattered live ammunition and debris from damaged buildings across nearby streets. A 155mm artillery shell was found in a schoolyard, police said.

Three of the victims were working inside the factory. Six were passers-by who were hit by projectiles, the Defense Ministry said.

The walls of nearby houses collapsed, windows were smashed and trees fell due to the impact of the blasts, witnesses said.

One of the victims was found dead at a bus station 30 blocks away from the factory. Doctors said he had been struck in the head by a flying object.

The Cordoba Health Ministry reported that 328 people were treated in hospitals Friday, and that the vast majority of them had only minor injuries.

Many residents of Rio Tercero, a city of 42,000, were evacuated.

Twelve hours after the first blast, firefighters were still unable to enter some parts of the factory because of the risk of further explosions.

“It was like a black hole in there. It’s difficult to know what happened,” Health Minister Enrique Borrini told reporters.

Police said more than 200 workers were inside the plant at the time of the first explosion but most were believed to have fled before the blasts.