E-Malt.com News article: Israel: Qassam rocket lands near Carlsberg beer factory; no injuries, damage reported

A Qassam rocket exploded Wednesday, December 14, afternoon near the Carlsberg beer factory in an open area in Ashkelon's southern industrial zone, country’s media sources posted. There were no reports of injuries or damage. The rocket caused a loud explosion sound across the industrial zone, which is located only 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) away from the city's residential area.

One of the factory workers told Ynet that "the rocket landed a few meters away from the factory's gate, on its outer side. We were alarmed, but everyone is okay, thank God."

Police officials said that the rocket was relatively big compared to other rockets that were launched toward Israel recently. The rocket was located about half an hour after it landed, and its radius was approximately 115 millimeters (about 4.5 inches).

This is not the first time that Palestinians have targeted the southern industrial zone, but the incident was particularly rare. A Qassam rocket landed in the industrial zone two years ago, also in an open area.

After the blast was heard in the industrial zone, a number of factories in the area decided to evacuate their workers into shelters. One of the workers said that "we heard a strong explosion. At first we thought it was an IDF operation in the Gaza Strip area, which we are sometimes able to hear, but then security guards came and told us that it was apparently a Qassam rocket. They asked us to enter reinforced rooms. After the sappers arrived, we continued to work as usual."

A number of months ago, the Home Front Command completed the installation of the Red Dawn alert system in the city of Ashkelon. At first, the plan was to install the system only in the southern part of the city, but following consultations with security officials it was decided to install it all over Ashkelon.


16 December, 2005