Mysterious explosion at US Army depot lights up sky in Japan
| Tokyo, Japan
Multiple explosions and a large fire at a US Army depot lit up the night sky in a Tokyo suburb early Monday. No injuries were reported.
The blast happened after midnight at the Sagami General聽Depot聽in Sagamihara, a city about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of聽Tokyo, said Navy Commander Bill Urban, a Pentagon press officer.
The building that exploded was storing compressed nitrogen, oxygen, Freon and air, a statement issued by the聽US聽Army聽Japan said. Photos taken after daybreak and released by the聽Army show dozens of gray canisters lying on the floor, and what looks like mangled storage racks.
The walls of the one-story, concrete building remain intact, but the windows and doors are damaged and about half of the roof collapsed, the聽Army聽said. There are no indications of injuries.
Video on Japanese television, apparently shot from an elevated place outside the post, shows a聽fire聽in the distance and subsequent聽explosions聽shooting small fiery blasts into the聽sky. A woman told national broadcaster NHK that it sounded like fireworks.
About 500 Japanese and 300 American troops and civilians work at the聽depot, said Lt. Col. Kevin Toner, the chief of public affairs for聽US聽Army聽Japan.
The sprawling 196-hectare (484-acre)聽depot聽is in the middle of a heavily populated area, and at least one resident reported smoke coming into his home. The聽US has about 50,000 troops stationed in Japan.
"This sort of incident triggers anxiety among residents living near the聽US bases, and we urge the聽US to provide further information, to investigate the cause and to prevent the repetition of such incidents," Yoshihide Suga, the government's top spokesman, said at his morning briefing.
Base firefighters were joined by Japanese emergency responders in fighting the聽fire聽to prevent its spread to nearby buildings, the聽Army聽said.
The cause of the聽explosion聽is under investigation.
