[chris]

A Jordanian army ammunition depot exploded in the desert east of Zarqa at about 1 a.m. on September 11, 2020.

The store held unusable mortar bombs and was part of a depot being dismantled. One shell initiated and the detonation ran through the rest of the stock, producing a series of explosions and a large fire. A fireball rose over the desert with further blasts behind it.

Flames were visible from Amman, about 35 km away, the blast was heard around 30 km off, and windows shattered in parts of Zarqa. The armed forces reported no deaths and no injuries, and said damage was limited to some old machinery. The depot sat in an unpopulated area under camera surveillance.

Two official explanations were given the same day and never reconciled. A government spokesman said initial investigations pointed to an electrical circuit in the depot. The armed forces said high ambient temperature had set off a chemical reaction inside the filling of one mortar shell, during a heatwave in which some regions passed 48 degrees Celsius. A committee was formed to determine the cause.

Roads into Zarqa were closed for a time and the army combed the site before declaring it clear.