The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is conducting the probe into a fatal training accident at the Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada. The investigation has been ongoing since a 60mm mortar shell exploded in its tube Monday night during training, killing seven Marines and wounding eight more.
Investigators are working to learn exactly how the Marines were positioned when the explosion occurred and what went wrong in firing the mortar.
Command has issued a ‘Deadline Safety of Use’ message suspending use of the M224A1 60mm mortar system for all Marine Commands in training and downrange after a Monday’s explosion. The blanket suspension comes with an exception: General officers in combat theater can still authorize use of the mortars if they choose.
“The Marines were conducting live fire and maneuver training at the Hawthorne Army depot,” Brigadier General Jim Lukeman said. “A mortar round exploded in the mortar tube, causing the deaths of seven and injuring seven others. We don’t know yet what caused this malfunction.”
The Marines killed Monday had been undergoing training for the past month at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in Pickle Meadows, near Bridgeport, California and at Hawthorne.
“This is part of the type of training that we do just to maintain a force in readiness,” Lukeman said. “It’s not specifically linked to a nearby deployment.”
The victims were airlifted to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno with injuries that included penetration trauma, fractures and vascular injuries, said Stacy Kendall, a spokeswoman for the medical center. She added, six Marines and a Navy sailor were wounded and of those, six were in serious or very serious condition, while a seventh suffered minor injuries.
The seven Marines killed in the blast, left from Reno-Tahoe International Airport, Wednesday evening bound for Camp Lejeune, North Carolina where they’re based.
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