Smoking Soldiers Ignited Ammo Disaster

KIEV (Reuters) - Two smoking soldiers set off tons of ammunition that killed five people, caused $725 million in damage and sent debris showering across southern Ukraine last week, the emergencies minister said on Tuesday.

A series of blasts hurled debris as far as 25 miles after fire broke out last Thursday at a warehouse complex where 92,000 tons of artillery ammunition was stored.

Blasts were still heard on Tuesday, emergencies minister Hryhory Reva told parliament.

"At about 12 o'clock on Thursday, two servicemen, who were stocking military ammunition, began smoking at their working site. It caused the fire and set off the explosions," he said.

The blasts caused some $725 million in damage to the defense ministry and population in the Zaporizhya region, he said. They destroyed buildings in a two-mile radius, including a local railway station.

A minor gas pipeline was also damaged. Metal fragments and other debris were thrown 40 km, causing fires in nearby towns.

Authorities evacuated some 7,000 people from the surrounding area. People started to return home on Tuesday, five days after the initial blasts.

Some parliamentary deputies have demanded Defense Minister Evhen Marchuk resign because of his inability to turn around the ex-Soviet state's struggling armed forces.

The Ukrainian army has seen its reputation battered in recent years following a series of disasters.

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