Four U.S. Marines die in accident at Camp Pendleton in California
SAN DIEGO
(Reuters) - Four U.S. Marines were killed on Wednesday in an accident while clearing a training area used as an artillery and aerial bombing range at Camp Pendleton in Southern California, a military spokesman said.
NBC News reported the Marines were killed when unexploded ordnance unexpectedly detonated, but the spokesman could not immediately confirm that, saying only the Marines had been clearing the area.
Marines spokesman Lieutenant Ryan Finnegan said the clearance operation would have involved anything necessary to keep the range free of obstructions, which could include disposing of ordnance. But he could not say they were handling ordnance when the accident occurred.
The cause of the accident, which happened on Wednesday morning at the Zulu Impact Area in the interior part of the base, was under investigation.
No live-fire exercise was under way at Zulu at the time, and while such an exercise was occurring at neighboring Whiskey Impact Area, it played no role in the deaths, Finnegan said.
"We offer our heartfelt prayers and condolences to the families of the Marines lost today in this tragic accident," Brigadier General John Bullard, commanding general of the base, said in a statement. "Our first priority is to provide the families with the support they need during this difficult time."
Finnegan said the Marines killed were not new recruits and were based at Camp Pendleton, but the military did not release their ages or other details about them.
Training at Camp Pendleton, including the live fire at Whiskey Impact Area, continued after the fatalities, he said.
The Zulu Impact Area is a restricted zone because of the danger of unexploded ordnance, according to Camp Pendleton's website. As a result, efforts to contain wildfires and study biology there are limited, the website description stated.
Seven Marines were killed in an accidental munitions depot blast in Nevada in March. In May, a U.S. Navy SEAL was killed in a vehicle accident during a training exercise at Fort Knox in Kentucky.
In September 2011, two Marines aboard a helicopter died when it crashed during a training mission at Camp Pendleton, two months after a Marine was killed when another helicopter went down at the base.
Camp Pendleton, 40 miles north of San Diego, is the main West Coast base for the Marine Corps.
(Reporting by Marty Graham in San Diego; Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Peter Cooney)
Four Marines Are Killed in Camp Pendleton Accident
By IAN LOVETT
LOS ANGELES — Four Marines were killed Wednesday in an accident during maintenance of an artillery range at a base outside San Diego, military officials said.
The cause of the accident at Camp Pendleton was under investigation, according to officials. The names of the Marines who were killed have not been released by the military, pending notification of their next of kin.
The accident occurred during regularly scheduled maintenance of the base’s Zulu Impact Area, which is used for firing artillery and dropping bombs from aircraft during training, according to Cpl. Michael Iams.
Maintenance of the range can involve removing ordnance left in the area, moving wild animals or cutting the grass, Corporal Iams said, although he would not comment on what specifically happened Wednesday morning.
No live fire was going on at the range at the time of the accident, a military official said.
This is the second fatal accident this year involving Marines on a domestic military base. In March, seven Marines died and several others were injured when a mortar round exploded during a live-fire training exercise at a weapons depot in Nevada.
An investigation attributed the explosion to an error by a Marine operating a 60-millimeter mortar tube who did not follow correct procedure. Marine officials announced in May that two officers and a noncommissioned officer were removed from command as a result.
In a statement Wednesday, Brig. Gen. John W. Bullard, the commanding general at Camp Pendleton, offered condolences to the families of the victims of Wednesday’s accident.
“Our first priority is to provide the families with the support they need during this difficult time,” he said.
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Four U.S. Marines were killed at Camp Pendleton
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