Several Marines dead after explosion at Nevada army depot

By Molly Waldron

CREATED Mar. 19, 2013

Seven Marines are dead after an explosion in northern Nevada caused by a military training exercise gone wrong. Video by ktnv.com
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Seven Marines are dead after an explosion in northern Nevada caused by a military training exercise gone wrong.
Two other Marines and a Sailor were critically injured. Four other Marines were seriously injured, and at least one Marine suffered minor injuries.
It will be at least 24 hours before the identities of those killed are released.
The incident happened late Monday night at the Hawthorne Army Depot, located in a rural area southeast of Reno.
A mortar round exploded in the mortar tub," said Brigade General James Lukeman. "We don't know yet what caused the malfunction."
For years, units have traveled to the depot in the Nevada desert because of its remote location and terrain, which is comparable to the terrain in the Middle East. It spans 147,000 acres.

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UPDATED: Despite earlier reports, the Reno Gazette-Journal is reporting that only seven Marines have been confirmed dead.

HAWTHORNE, Nev. (AP) -- A Veterans of Foreign Wars official says an eighth Marine has died after a mortar shell explosion during mountain warfare training in Nevada's high desert.

John Stroud, national junior vice commander in chief for the VWF, began a memorial event near the site of the blast by saying "one of the critical has passed."

Mourners then laid eight floral arrangements at a park near the Hawthorne Army Depot.

Stroud says he spoke with Marine officers who gave him the news before Tuesday night's ceremony. Messages left for a Marine spokesman were not immediately returned.

The explosion occurred Monday night at the sprawling facility during an exercise involving the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force from Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Several Marines from the unit were injured in the blast.

The identities of those killed won't be released until 24 hours after their families are notified.

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