The Associated Press
TIRANA, Albania — Rescue teams worked into the night Sunday to try to locate nine people still missing a day after a chain of massive explosions flattened an Albanian ammunition dump and hundreds of nearby houses, killing at least nine and injuring nearly 300.
Defense Ministry spokesman Igli Hasani said the operation would continue "for as long as needed," but rescuers - assisted by U.S. military explosives experts - were hampered by large quantities of unexploded artillery shells.
"The search operation will continue into the night with limited groups of experts," he said.
Saturday's explosions in the village of Gerdec, about six miles north of Tirana, scattered shells over 2,500 acres, Hasani said.
Prime Minister Sali Berisha said the explosions were an accident: blasts triggered during work to destroy excess ammunition stockpiled during Albania's Communist past.
