[VIDEO] Mystery Surrounding the Turkmenistan Weapons Depot Explosion
Back on July 7th, a military weapons depot in Abadan, Turkmenistan exploded, leaving 13 civilians and two soldiers dead. The western world didn’t pay much attention to the story because of the unfolding News International phone-hacking scandal, and also because of Casey Anthony.
That’s a shame and failure on our part. It didn’t help that information was scarce on the explosion because the Turkmenistan government cracked down immediately following its aftermath. But at least now have a clearer picture of what exactly happened.
The government initially said the explosion involved only fireworks detonated by hot weather but later changed its story by saying it was exploding fireworks that caused a fire in a nearby arms depot, detonating munitions. The munitions in question were from the Soviet Era and scheduled to be recycled.
Over the weekend, video finally surfaced of the explosion, and you can tell that it was not just fireworks. If you just want the big boom, skip to about :55 into the video. The resulting blast and shockwave knocks over the cameraman. Watch this:
Turkmenistan’s repeated rejection of offers of assistance by regional countries, such as Turkey and Uzbekistan, has added to the mystery surrounding the blasts. Those rejections of help and reports of journalists covering the story being harassed have prompted speculation that the government does not want other countries visiting the site of the blast.
That’s led some media outlets to report the death toll could be significantly higher than the official government report of 15.
This is a major jump in the figure given out for the past week, which was 200 deaths, and there is no way to confirm it at this time. The total appears to be compiled from various reports of buildings destroyed and the people known to be in them and missing, including 127 homes and dozens of public buildings. For example, according to these reports, 30 people, including newborns, died in a maternity clinic and 30 children who had gone to take a computer lesson at a school located near the power station were also killed. Only fragments of bodies remain in these cases, making it hard to identify victims.
While some people still cannot get news of relatives killed or injured, there are some reports that authorities have finally allowed family members to receive the bodies of their relatives. Today, a Russian Orthodox parishioner told chrono-tm.org on condition of anonymity that funerals had been held for 15 people killed in the Abadan blast. Burials took place only after permission was received from local authorities. Relatives of other people who have died are still waiting for authorization.
What we do know for sure, aside from the blast that occurred, is that Turkmenistan’s president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, has reinforced security around the presidential palace and his suburban home. The president also reprimanded and demoted Defence Minister Begench Gundogdyyev from general to colonel and fired the deputy defense minister and head of the main weapons administration for their handling of the event.
What’s amazing still, is that in an age where information is readily available and where the truth of events usually wins out, that governments are still handling deadly accidents or incidents with secrecy. No one would fault them for reporting on the event with accuracy, accepting help for the tragedy, and apologizing for the conditions which allowed the explosion to occur.
People naturally assume there is something to hide if it appears you are trying to hide something. If the explosion at the munitions depot really was an accident caused by fireworks, then why the attempt to control the information and obfuscate the facts?
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