The Tri-Service General Hospital in Taipei's Neihu District says two soldiers
who were severely injured in an explosion at an ammunition depot earlier this
week have had to undergo partial amputations.

The incident occured at the Hsiang Feng military base in Keelung on Monday.


Hospital medical staff say doctors had had to amputate the left arm above the
shoulder of a 35-year-old staff sergeant, as well as the left hand of a
34-year-old staff sergeant.

They were among nine soldiers hospitalized following the explosion during an
inspection of 120-millimeter mortar rounds.

The Ministry of National Defense says it's investigation into the cause of
the explosion is on-going.

However, defense experts are speculating that the incident might have been
due to an explosion in the mortar's primers, which could have been struck by
static electricity.