Americas News
Three soldiers killed, 20 injured in blast in Colombia
Feb 25, 2012, 15:59 GMT
Bogota - Three soldiers were killed and 20 more were injured Saturday in north-western Colombia after a grenade a soldier was handling exploded, authorities said.
The authorities were investigating whether or not the blast, which happened during routine surveillance tasks in the municipality of Dabeiba, in the province of Antioquia, was an accident.
According to the Colombian Army's Seventh Division, the grenade that exploded had been assigned to the soldier as part of his military equipment. The soldier was arrested after the incident.
Sebastian Alzate, a doctor at Dabeiba hospital, told reporters that 20 soldiers were treated at the emergency room with shrapnel wounds to their faces, necks or abdomens. Several of them were transferred to hospitals in Antioquia capital Medellin for more thorough treatment.
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