One dead, eight wounded in blast at Czech military base
by AFP Staff Writers
Prague (AFP) June 17, 2024

A soldier was killed and eight people wounded in an explosion Monday at a Czech military base used to train Ukrainian troops, officials said.

The blast occurred at around midday at the Libava military training area near the city of Olomouc, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) east of the capital Prague.

"One professional soldier died during an explosion at the Libava military training area," the Czech army said on X.

"Seven soldiers and one civilian employee were transported to military and university hospitals in Olomouc," it added.

The Czech army has been training Ukrainian soldiers at Libava since late 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February of that year.

Military police spokeswoman Katerina Mlynkova told AFP the soldiers involved "were not foreigners".

The army said "unspecified ammunition had exploded" during a "planned training of pyrotechnicians", adding the soldier died at the site.

Olomouc University Hospital spokesman Adam Fritscher told AFP two patients were brought from the base by helicopter.

"They suffered moderate injuries and their lives are not in danger," he added.

Fritscher said earlier that six patients had been taken by ambulance to an army hospital in Olomouc while another was treated at the base.

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