The control and clearance of explosives residues from the area around the military ammunition depot that exploded yesterday afternoon due to the fire in Nea Anchialos, is the main priority of the military leadership of the Greek Armed Forces and especially the General Staff, in the context of the effort to restore normalcy to the Anchialos Air Base.
The explosions took place at an ammunition dump in the region of Volos. A blaze in the region reached the warehouse, triggering a series of explosions that shattered windows in surrounding areas.
Within the next few hours, a team of bomb disposal experts and a team from the Land Mine Clearance Battalion (TENX) are to be deployed to the 111th Combat Wing in Anchialos, with the aim of “combing” the area in a radius of at least 3 km, around the depot, as it is feared that the dispersal of ammunition and explosives residues over an extremely large area poses a significant risk to military personnel and civilians, as under certain conditions they could explode with all that this entails.
However, before the bomb disposal experts, the ammunition depot is expected to be approached by a special mixed crew of the Air Force and the Fire Brigade, with the aim of spraying coolant on and around the site, for safety reasons and because the relevant protocols for dealing with similar situations provide for this.
Authorities yesterday ordered residents in several villages in central Greece to evacuate after an explosion in an ammunition warehouse.
“Part of the ammunition warehouse at the air force barracks in Nea Anchialos is on fire and an explosion has taken place,” Yannis Artopios, a spokesman for the fire department told news agency AFP.
He said seven planes and three helicopters were already on site to put out the fires in the region. The air base is some 20 kilometers or 12 miles from the city of Volos, where the blasts were heard.
The air force said the site, about 6 kilometers north of the airbase, had been evacuated well in advance and no injuries were reported. No one was hurt in nearby villages either, authorities said. Several residents had been evacuated as a precautionary measure.
State ERT television showed some residents and visitors heading for a small local port so they could be evacuated by sea, while others were preparing to leave by car.
Greece has been plagued by fires throughout its territory with authorities scrambling to extinguish the flames.