OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. — One person was airlifted to a medical facility Friday morning following an explosion at an explosive ordnance disposal range at Eglin Air Force Base, officials said.
The incident happened around 9:45 a.m. at the Navy School Explosive Ordnance Disposal C-52 North range, according to authorities. The range houses one of the school’s demolition training areas.
Base and Okaloosa County emergency crews responded to the incident and airlifted one person to a medical facility. The person’s condition was not immediately known.
Eglin Air Force Base officials said an investigation into the incident, which they called a “mishap,” is ongoing.
Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal is managed by the U.S. Navy and jointly staffed by Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps personnel. At the school, members of the Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, and some Defense Department civilian personnel and international military students “are all taught the most current procedures for the location, identification, render safe, recovery, technical evaluation, and disposal of conventional surface and underwater ordnance, both foreign and domestic,” according to base officials.
The school opened in 1999 with the mission of training officers and enlisted Navy personnel.