CIA 'Inadvertently' Leaves 'Explosive Training Material' on Va. School Bus After Training Exercise

The Central Intelligence Agency said Thursday that it "inadvertently" left "explosive training material" on a Virginia school bus after one of its K-9 units completed a routine training exercise last week.

In a statement, the agency said it had used a school bus while training local law enforcement officials in Loudon County.

The Loudon County Sheriff's Office said that the explosives were hidden inside the engine compartment during canine explosive detection training and at some point a "portion of the material from the container appears to have been dislodged ... and fell into the engine compartment of the bus and was not recovered following the training."

[sharequote align="center"]"[F]ell into the engine compartment of the bus and was not recovered following the training."[/sharequote]

The CIA said it was notified Wednesday when the explosive material was discovered in the during routine maintenance.

Local officials said students took the bus on both March 28 and 29. CIA officials said, however, that the explosive material "did not pose a danger to passengers."

"The training materials used in the exercises are incredibly stable and according to the CIA and Loudoun County explosive experts the students on the bus were not in any danger from the training material," the local sheriff's office said.

The CIA said it will conduct an independent review of the training program to prevent similar accidents from happening again in the future.

Featured image courtesy of Shutterstock.

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