CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C., Jan. 22 (UPI) -- An explosion that killed seven U.S. Marines and wounded eight others last year was caused by a double-loaded mortar tube, a report says.
While the report largely attributes the explosion to human error, it said gaps in training and the soldiers' unfamiliarity with the weapons were also to blame, the Marine Corps Times reported Tuesday.
Released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by the Times, the report provides the most detailed account of the accident since the Marine Corps released a statement last spring.
The explosion occurred as Marines with Alpha Company of 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., were conducting live-fire training with 60-mm mortars at Hawthorne Army Depot the night of March 18, 2013.
The report said the Marines' mortars were grouped closely together and that the soldiers had successfully fired a number of rounds before the blast. A Marine accidentally loaded a shell into a mortar as a shell already in the tube detonated, ejecting the half-loaded round and causing the explosion.
Investigators said four factors contributed to the accident, including inadequate training, improper gunnery commands and firing procedures, and a systemic lack of supervision during the exercise. They ruled the accident was not "the result of misconduct on the part of any of the victims."
The report noted the soldiers were accustomed to firing a larger, 81-mm, mortar that doesn't have a trigger and is considered "nearly impossible" to double-load.
Three officers were relieved of duty as a result of the investigation.
Read More
- Female Marines who pass infantry course won't be joining combat units
- Marines ID'd in fatal Camp Pendleton firing range explosion
- Five Marine Corps sergeants guilty of fraternization
- Marines tortured, killed couple for pleasure, prosecutor says
- Human error cause of incident that killed seven, U.S. Marines say
