Explosions rock U.S. military base near South Korea's capital
By Nathan Salant 36 mins ago in World
Waegwan - No casualties have been reported so far after a series of oxygen tank explosions blew apart buildings at a U.S. military base in South Korea.
U.S. military officials reported the explosions badly damaged at least one building at Camp Carroll in Waegwan, South Korea, and shrapnel from the blasts started fires in a farming village near the base, but no injuries were reported so far.
Camp Carroll is 280 kilometers (175 miles) southeast of Seoul, South Korea's capital.
The cause of the explosions is under investigation, U.S. officials said.
South Korea said more than 20 medical oxygen tanks had exploded at the base, according to the Associated Press.
The building that appeared heavily damaged in South Korea media photos was the structure that housed the tanks, the AP said.
Officials at South Korea's Ministry of Public Safety and Security told AP under a guarantee of anonymity that the medical oxygen tanks that blew up were about 50 kilograms (110 pounds) each and that smaller tanks also ignited.
A U.S. military statement acknowledged there had been "an oxygen tank explosion" but provided few other details, the AP said.
Local fire officials said they sent 18 fire trucks to the scene of the explosions and the flames were extinguished in less than an hour.
A Waegwan resident told YTN television that the windows of his house, less than 1,000 feet from the base, had been shaken by the explosions.
Camp Carroll is home to fewer than 2,000 of the nearly 30,000 U.S. soldiers based permanently in South Korea, the AP said.
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