1986 Iquique arms factory explosion

Industrial Accident October 2025 January 25, 1986 Iquique, Chile explosion 29 11 On January 25, 1986, a large explosion occurred at the Cardoen Armaments Factory in the Alto Hospicio industrial suburb of the coastal Chilean city Iquique, killing 29 workers and seriously injuring 11. Only four bodies were recovered, with the others vaporised by the blast, according to Irene Rojas, a reporter for the Iquique newspaper La Estrella.Jan 25, 1986 Report 28 May Have Perished in Explosion at Arms Factory AP https://apnews.com/article/44525e31cf74143ae4b6acf12ce19253 The plant, one of five arms factories owned by industrialist Carlos Cardoen, was the largest in Chile at the time.Upi 1986-01-26 AROUND THE WORLD; 28 Said to Die in Blast At Chilean Arms Factory en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/26/world/around-the-world-28-said-to-die-in-blast-at-chilean-arms-factory.html 2022-05-29 0362-4331Burbach Roger March 6, 2008 Pincohet, Arms Merchant https://nacla.org/article/pincohet-arms-merchant https://web.archive.org/web/20210126125228/https://nacla.org/article/pincohet-arms-merchant Jan 26, 2021 NACLA The explosion occurred in the cluster bomb arming section of the plant, which had been exporting the 500 pound bombs to Iraq for use during the Iran–Iraq War since 1983. According to Luis Narváez, a reporter investigating Chile's arms dealing and Pinochet's offshore bank accounts for La Nación, there was a persistent rumor among Chileans that the explosion was the result of sabotage, possibly committed by Chilean soldiers. The given motive for this alleged attack was to punish Cardoen for not cooperating fully with a "mafia like" syndicate of Chilean arms manufacturers, and for providing too much competition for other manufacturers such as FAMAE. See also Río Tercero explosion References Chile Category:Industrial fires and explosions in South America Category:1986 disasters in Chile Category:History of Tarapacá Region Category:Military dictatorship of Chile (1973–1990) Category:1986 explosions Category:Explosions in Chile Category:1986 industrial disasters Category:Military history of Chile Category:January 1986 in South America