HAWTHORNE, Nev. (AP) — Investigators will be looking into what went wrong during a training exercise in Nevada's high desert last night. A mortar shell explosion killed seven Marines and injured a half-dozen others.
It happened at the Hawthorne Army Depot, which is used by troops who are about to be deployed overseas.
Marine Corps officials say the accident happened about 10 p.m. Monday when a 60mm mortar exploded at the Hawthorne Army Depot. The Marines were from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
While the investigation continues, the military is holding off on using any of the mortars from the same manufacturing lot as the ones that were used at the Nevada base.
