Within a munitions dismantling facility, an explosion occurred at 4:05 pm inside one of the burning tunnels, composed of a 2-m wide concrete block and closed by gratings on three sides.

Empty crates were engulfed in flames; the detonation happened 10 minutes after the crates ignited. These crates, which were supposedly empty, originated from a workshop dedicated to removing explosive charges on anti-tank mines and had been stored for two years adjacent to the workshop.

This type of crate was used to contain hexolite residue present on the machine when the explosive was separated from the body of the mine. Such crates served to “shuttle” material between the shop area and the burner.

A crate containing explosive residue had been inadvertently palletised at the same time as the empty crates. 15 kg of the product exploded; the grates on the burner landed 50 metres away.

The site operator modified the handling protocol: empty crates were no longer left idle in the charge removal zone. To avoid any confusion, empty crates were palletised upside down and without a cover before being filmed in black and identified.