Six hurt in blast at Israeli arms development centre

An explosion went off today during a test at an Israeli arms development centre, injuring at least six people.

The loud blast at Rafael, the weapons development arm of Israel’s Defence Ministry, was heard across Haifa Bay in northern Israel.

Moshe Weizman, a regional police spokesman, said: “We are not talking about a suicide attack.

“It is a work accident. We don’t know exactly what, a chemical that blew up in a bottle,” he told Israel Army Radio.

Officials at Rafael declined to comment.

Rafael makes sophisticated weapons, including missiles, tank armour and electronic warfare systems.

Local fire officials said there had not been an accident at the site in the past 20 years.