Three soldiers die in an explosion in Viator, Almeria

FLAGS are flying at half mast in Viator, Almeria, after three soldiers died in an explosion at the town’s army base. The explosion happened at the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit at the Alvarez de Sotomayor camp in Viator and injured a further two soldiers including a sergeant.

The three bomb disposal experts who were killed have been named and family informed. EOD technician Antonio Navarro Garcia, originally from Cordoba, born in 1967, joined the army in 1987 before becoming sergeant in 1994.

Manuel Velasco Roman from Calvary, Malaga, was married with two children. He was born in 1968 and joined the army in 1986 making sergeant in 1993. Jose Francisco Prieto Gonzalez from Estepona, Malaga, born in 1979, joined the army in 1998 and became sergeant in 2010. All three had served in missions abroad.

An internal investigation is underway but it is believed it may have been caused during the transfer of explosives inside the base.