Explosion Rocks New Jersey Naval Weapons Station
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Juergen Ritterbach / Getty Images(MIDDLETOWN, N.J.) — An explosion shook the Naval Weapons Station Earle in Middletown, N.J., Tuesday morning, after a blast blew a hole through the roof of a building, injuring eight people.
Naval officials said an explosion occurred during routine maintenance of a 35-foot utility vessel in a boat house around 9 a.m.
One person was seriously hurt, officials said, and seven others suffered minor injuries. All personnel were taken to area hospitals.
“[O]ne person has been treated and released, another is being treated for non-life threatening injuries and six continue to be evaluated,” according to a Navy press release.
The damage from the explosion was contained within the boathouse area, and ammunition and ordnance operations at the weapons stations were not affected by the incident, according to a Navy statement.
“I don’t know the extent of what they were doing, but I would say that anytime you can walk away, you’re doing well when you have a mishap like this,” said base commander John Dunne.
The cause of the explosion is under investigation.
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