An explosion has occurred at the central Guardia Civil barracks in Almeria city, just after 3pm, and a Guardia Civil explosives expert has died as a result of the explosion.
It happened in an underground garage underneath the barracks central dining room, which was serving lunch at the time. Panic ensued as officers assumed an attack on their base had happened, and the barracks was put under lockdown until the cause of the explosion was identified. Only fire units were allowed into the high security centre.
However, a statement issued a short while ago by the barrack commander said that the explosion appears to be accidental. An initial report said that a member of the TEDEX, the explosives unit, had died in the explosion which seemed to have been caused by a can of petrol igniting whilst the man worked on a police vehicle. However a later report retracted the petrol comment, saying only that the explosion happened inside a specialist TEDEX van whilst the man was checking the stocks inside. TEDEX vans carry live explosive to carry out controlled detonations of suspicious objects.
Fire units continue to make the basement safe and examine the structural integrity of the building.
Nuestro adiós dolorido al compañero TEDAX fallecido en una explosión en la Comandancia de Almería
Descansa en Paz pic.twitter.com/bDDGUG7qXA— Guardia Civil (@guardiacivil) July 15, 2015