WORLD : Soviet Tank Explodes; 17 Killed
A Soviet tank exploded in northern Czechoslovakia today, killing at least 17 Soviet soldiers and injuring three, the official news agency CTK reported.
Fifteen soldiers were killed immediately and two died during surgery, the report said.
A defect in electrical wiring caused unspecified ammunition to explode inside the tank, setting the vehicle on fire, the report said.
The tank had been at the Soviet military base at Bohosudov near the town of Teplice, 60 miles north of Prague. Ammunition debris was found 400 yards from the site of the blast, CTK said.
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