Kalinak: Extraordinary Event at VTSU Zahorie Happened During Test Firing (2)

Senica, February 25 (TASR) - The explosion at the Zahorie Military and Technical Testing Institute (VTSU) on Tuesday morning occurred during test firing, with two people being injured in the accident, Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) has said in a video posted on a social network. "It is impossible at the moment to define exactly the cause of this extraordinary event, whether it was a failure of the powder charges, ammunition or the weapon system itself," said Kalinak. Two people were injured during the incident, and they are currently receiving medical care. "We'll definitely inform the media about their condition later," he said. One of the injured people has been admitted to the private Bory Hospital in Bratislava, while the second patient was taken to the state-run Kramare hospital in the same city. Dusan Matejicka, the trauma surgery department head at Bory Hospital, told a press conference on Tuesday that the patient under its care has been stabilised and is conscious. Kalinak said that the cause of the incident is under investigation. He didn't rule out third-party error, but in his view, there is nothing to suggest this at this time. According to him, the accident occurred during stress tests on a howitzer during firing. "Very important information is that the ammunition itself did not explode during the accident, which would have had much more serious consequences," he said. ko/df