WIRE:10/30/2000 13:09:00 ET Four rockets accidentally launched from Siberian military base

MOSCOW (AP) _ Russian officials were trying to find one of four short-range rockets accidentally launched from a Siberian military base, news agencies and television reports said Monday. The rockets were rounds from a Grad launcher, a truck-mounted weapon that can fire 40 of the 9 1/2 foot-long rockets up to 21 miles in devastating rows. At least two people were injured during the accidental firing at a facility in the Kochenevo district of the Novosibirsk region, 1,750 miles east of Moscow, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.

One rocket exploded on the spot, while two more were found nearby unexploded, Russia"s government RTR television said. One of the unexploded rounds was found in the town of Kochenevo, the regional administrative center, ITAR-Tass reported. Officials were still trying to determine where the fourth rocket landed, RTR said.

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20001030_772.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), October 30, 2000