At least five law enforcement officers were injured when an explosive detonated during a bomb squad training exercise in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, on Thursday.
The incident occurred around 9:50pm in a field behind the SCI Phoenix Prison in the town of Skippack, as bomb squad officers set up for a later training session for the ATF and FBI.
The officers had placed an explosive device inside a vehicle, when it detonated early and injured the five officers.
The injured included a Pennsylvania State Trooper, an FBI agent, and three members of the Montgomery County Sherriff’s bomb squad.
One of the injured – a 14 year bomb squad veteran – was airlifted to a hospital.
The ruined car could be seen smoldering in helicopter footage taken at the scene, and the air around it appeared to be wavering with heat
The injured included a Pennsylvania State Trooper, an FBI agent, and three members of the Montgomery County Sherriff’s bomb squad
The other two injured bomb squad officers had been with the team for 12 and 13 years, and were taken to the hospital with ‘less significant’ injuries, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s office told DailyMail.com.
The sheriff’s office declined to provide the victims’ names or comment on the extent of their injuries.
Photos from the scene showed a four door sedan with its doors blown open, paint stripped from the chassis, the the interior torched, and a black ring of scorched earth surrounding the vehicle.
The ruined car could be seen smoldering in helicopter footage taken at the scene, and the air around it appeared to be wavering with heat.
The FBI is investigating the cause of the explosion.
Photos from the scene showed a four door sedan with its doors blown open, paint stripped from the chassis, the the interior torched, and a black ring of scorched earth surrounding the vehicle
The sheriff’s office declined to provide the victims’ names or comment on the extent of their injuries