HAWTHRONE, NV (NV) -- An explosion rocked an Army munitions depot in the Nevada desert during a Marine Corps training exercise late Monday night. Reuters quoted a military spokeswoman as saying several people had been killed.
The explosion happened at Hawthorne Army Depot, just east of the California line, a few minutes before 10 p.m., NBC affiliate KRNV in Reno reported.
The depot is a 147,000-acre storage facility for ammunition and other equipment being taken out of service and a training facility for Special Operations forces preparing to deploy to the Middle East.
Russ Collier, an official at the depot, said that several people had been flown from the scene in medical helicopters. NBC News was not immediately able to confirm the Reuters report of several deaths.
The Associated Press is reporting that the seven Marines were based in North Carolina but were in Nevada for training exercises.
The Marine Corps have not released the identities of those killed pending notification of their families and a 24-hour waiting period after that.
