Explosion at Pakistan’s nuclear research facility: technician killed

Explosion at Pakistan’s nuclear research facility: technician killed

An explosion killed a technician at Pakistan's main nuclear research facility, an army spokesman said Wednesday.

The man died while handling explosives Tuesday at Khan Research Laboratories, near Islamabad, spokesman Maj. Gen. Shuakat Sultan said. There were no other injuries, and no damage to nuclear facilities at the laboratory, he said.

"It was a normal conventional explosive that he was handling when the accident happened and he died," Sultan said.

The research facility is named after Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program. In 2004, Khan confessed that he gave sensitive technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya. The disgraced scientist is now living under house arrest in Islamabad, reports the AP.

I.L.