Grenade blast kills bomb squad member

Grenade blast kills bomb squad member

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

A member of the West Java Police's Mobile Brigade bomb squad
was killed and three other officers were injured on Wednesday
when the grenade they were deactivating exploded at their base in
Cikeruh, Sumedang, about 20 kilometers west of here.

The blast killed Brig. Mugiyanto, the bomb squad leader. Three
other officers -- Ngatimin, Felix and Erik Heriyadi -- were taken
to Sartika Asih Hospital in Bandung for treatment.

West Java Police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Deddy S. Komarudin
said later in the day the incident was purely an accident, and no
other parties were involved in deactivating the grenade.

He said the explosive was among three pineapple grenades and a
mortar found by local residents over the past month, with the
most recent discovery taking place on July 8.

"Two grenades had been successfully deactivated when the third
exploded," Deddy said.

He speculated that human error may have been the cause of the
accident.

In a breach of procedure, the grenades were being deactivated
on the police shooting range rather than in a special room.

Deddy said the police were investigating the incident, but
would not look into where the grenades came from.

"Maybe they belonged to the military, but we don't know for
sure. The grenades, which were made in the United States, were
powerful. Judging from their type, they did not belong to the
police," he said.

The body of Mugiyanto was flown to his hometown of Yogyakarta
for burial.