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CNN Live At Daybreak

Afghan Ammo Dump Explosion Under Investigation

Aired June 28, 2002 - 05:08   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's head now to Afghanistan. That explosion at an ammunitions depot in Kandahar Province is now being investigated. U.S. military authorities believe the explosion was not the result of hostile fire.

CNN's Tom Mintier joins us live by video phone from Islamabad, Pakistan -- what happened?

TOM MINTIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, about 2:30 in the morning there was a massive explosion just across the border from Pakistan inside Afghanistan about two or three miles at a place called Spin Boldak. But the shock wave from this huge explosion was felt miles away in Chaman, on the border, where windows were knocked out.

Now, the death toll is mounting. There are official confirmation of at least one dead, but it may be a dozen or maybe even more. There are unconfirmed reports that 50 people may, indeed, be missing after this explosion.

These were weapons that were apparently taken after the Taliban left Kandahar and stockpiled in Spin Boldak a large cache of weapons that blew up in the middle of the night. These weapons, apparently people living near the area did not know exist. One of those injured, of the dozens injured, was a World Food Program worker. Their facility was very close to the ammunition dump.

Khaled Mansour joins us now, a spokesman for the World Food Program...

COSTELLO: We lost our satellite signal. That was Tom Mintier reporting.

Again, an explosion in Afghanistan in the Kandahar Province. We believe maybe one to 10 people have been killed. We'll get back to Tom as soon as we reestablish the signal.

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