17 PERSONS WOUNDED IN SESVETE EXPLOSION

ZAGREB, Apr 8 (Hina) - According to Zagreb hospitals, 17 persons injured in yesterday's series of explosions in a military ammunition storage in Zagreb's suburb of Sesvete were admitted to hospitals until 3 a.m. early this morning. Four of them have been seriously wounded and remained in hospitals. Five persons have been reported missing, but this information has not yet been officially confirmed, said Deputy Defence Minister Josip Juras last night in a Croatian TV show. He added that about 50 to 60 persons worked in a military ammunition storage area when the accident happened. Juras said that a fire could not be put out from the air. A Croatian Army general entered the ammunition storage area by tank and checked almost all facilities, but he could not come near to the centre of the fire, said Juras. He added that extensive material damage was inflicted on the area and residential buildings, and that about 90 percent of military facilities were out of use. Traffic and gas supply were normalized in the Sesvete municipality, but some parts had no electricity because installations were broken. Three expert teams have been working on defusing of explosive devices that fell on the estern part of Zagreb, said the alert committee. No poison gases were registered in the area so far. The general alert is still in force in Dubrava, Sesvete and Dugo Selo. 081238 MET apr 94