Unfortunately not all news about Albania is good news and events over the weekend have clearly demonstrated this.
On Saturday 15th March a munitions depot 10km from Tirana exploded shooting a huge ball of fire 50 metres into the air. The force of the blast smashed windows at Mother Teresa International Airport and totally destroyed nearby houses. The tragic news is that several people have been killed and hundreds more injured with serious burns and cuts from flying shrapnel.
The following Television news footage showed the extent of the devastation with houses having been destroyed and trees decimated by the impact of the blast:
Search for Survivors
On Sunday Albanian troops were searching through the rubble for survivors and Prime Minister Sali Berisha warned the death toll is likely to rise.
“There is a considerable number of victims from the explosion” Berisha said during a press conference and he promised an official inquiry into the accident after visiting victims in hospitals in Tirana.
More than a 1000 soldiers have been mobilised and are working with the police to coordinate the relief operation. Explosions continued into the night hampering rescue efforts but these had thankfully stopped by morning and troops had entered the area around the depot to look for survivors.
4,000 civilians had to be evacuated from neighbouring villages around the depot and were taken to government and military facilities in Durres, 40 kilometres west of Tirana.
According to the emergency services more than 500 houses had been either destroyed or severely damaged and another 1800 with slight to moderate damage.
Albania’s neighbours were quick to react with Italy, Macedonia, Turkey, Kosovo and Greece all offering aid to the Albanian authorities.
Enver Hoxha’s Legacy
The explosions began when workers were moving stocks of old Chinese and Soviet shells stored at the base, a central collection point for the arsenal amassed by the communist era dictatorship of Enver Hoxha.
Albania has been trying for years to dismantle the obsolete arsenal, set as one of the conditions for the country to join NATO, which Tirana hopes to receive next month.
“The stock of 100,000 tonnes of 40-50 years old ammunition is one of our most serious problems,” Berisha said Saturday. “One thing is certain, Albania must get rid of this dangerous inheritance.”
Our thoughts here at the Zone go out to those people who have tragically lost family members over the course of this weekend.
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It has just occurred to me that some of the video in this post was taken from a car that must have been on the Tirana-Durres highway. During our February trip we had actually driven along this section of road and so must have gone right past this Ammo store just a few weeks before this blast.
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