Police said workers from the construction firm, based in the Kaku district of Nakatsu, Oita Prefecture, put five or six sticks of dynamite they had decided to dispose of in with a load of rubbish that was being burned at the firm at about 7:20 a.m. Monday.

The dynamite soon exploded, smashing the windows of seven houses belonging to residents living near the facility.

"We thought that if the detonators were taken out they wouldn't explode, and just burn normally, so we put them in with the other rubbish," a firm official was quoted as saying.

The dynamite that exploded was normally used for blasting work, police said. Police plan to question firm officials on suspicion of violating the Explosives Control Law. (Mainichi Shimbun, Feb. 10, 2003)

http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20030210p2a00m0dm011001c.html

Submitted on 02/10/2003

Submitted by: Gavin
Reference: ainichi News, Feb. 10, 2003

Copyright © 2002 DarwinAwards.com

Jack said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
This story doesn't really warrent a HN, but as a classic example of why "sillyvilans" should not be trusted with explosives, it deserves a mention. I've seen this a couple of times and its the same damn thing! People, if you have explosives, call your local Army EOD unit! Don't rely on your police "bomb squad" - some are very, very good, but some have a hard time finding their rear ends with a mirror and a compass.

Bert said:
Definitely Toss: No Self-Selection
I believe the story- But no one got hurt or killed, certainly not the idiots who tossed the dyanamite in the fire. Dynamite can be burned (relatively) safely in small quantities, but in larger quantities or if overheated it can explode. What they did isn't that uncommon.

Gregory said:
Definitely Keep: Honorable Mention
Dumb, dumb, dumb.