NATO representative among three killed in explosion at Ukraine defence enterprise
Xinhua, July 30, 2016 Adjust font size:
A NATO representative was among three people killed in an explosion at a defense enterprise in Ukraine's northern Sumy region Thursday afternoon, Natalia Naumenko, a spokesperson for the Prosecutor's Office of the Sumy Region said Friday.
"Among those killed are a transport worker born in 1975, a test engineer born in 1989 and a NATO representative born in 1985," Naumenko told local media.
Two more people wounded in the blast are receiving treatment in hospital, and their condition is stable, Naumenko said.
The explosion occurred during unloading munition brought in for utilization, at the testing station No.2 of the State Scientific Research Institute of Chemical Products (SSRICP) -- a scientific branch of the Ukrainian state-run defense company Ukroboronprom.
The press service of the company said later that the recycling of the munition was carried out under the supervision of the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) in accordance with the deal signed in 2013.
According to a statement by Ukroboronprom, the NATO representative was a Ukrainian citizen working for the NSPA.
Over the past three years, the SSRICP has utilized about 5,000 tons of munitions, the statement said. Endi