• Thirteen people, including nine civilians and four military personnel, died in an explosion during ammunition disposal.
• The blast occurred in Garut, West Java, during an attempted detonation of expired military munitions.
• This incident marks the second death involving military ammunition in Indonesia within a year.

Thirteen individuals lost their lives in an explosion during the disposal of expired military ammunition in Garut, West Java, on Monday. Among the victims were nine civilians and four military personnel, according to Indonesian Military (TNI) spokesperson Kristomei Sianturi. The military has initiated an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident, particularly focusing on how civilians were allowed to approach the site during the detonation efforts, reported Reuters and The Jakarta Post.

The explosion occurred while a team was arranging detonators inside a pit designated for disposal. Wahyu Yudhayana, the army spokesman, explained that two batches of munitions had been successfully disposed of prior to this tragic incident. Eyewitness accounts described a sequence of explosions lighting up the sky, as local residents often gather in nearby areas to collect scrap materials from previous detonations, according to South China Morning Post and Dawn.

This incident is particularly concerning as it marks the second explosion involving military ammunition in over a year, with a significant fire occurring at a military depot near Jakarta back in March of the previous year. That event necessitated the evacuation of local residents but fortunately did not result in casualties, highlighting ongoing safety issues related to military ammunition disposal in Indonesia, as reported by Reuters, The Jakarta Post, and South China Morning Post.