Itanagar, November 25: In a tragic incident, three children died after a live mortar shell exploded on Saturday at Chirang village in Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh. The village is near an Indian Army firing range. The incident took place at 5.30 pm on Saturday when a live mortar shell picked from an army firing range exploded in a house of a petty contractor Shibsu Krong. The three children, including Krong’s two-year-old son, and two cousins of eight and ten years, who were living with the family died on the spot.

According to a report published in Hindustan Times, the children had picked up the shell accidentally when they had gone to the store, to fetch some firewood. According to police, the shell had probably been stored by the family for nearly a year and that they might not have aware that it was a live shell. Arunachal Pradesh Villagers Get Crores of Compensation, Over 50 Years After Their Land Was Acquired by Indian Army.

Habung Hailyang, Superintendent of Police, Anjaw told Hindustan Times that the villagers often go to the nearby firing range to pick up used shells which they sell either as scrap or melt to extract metals. The case has been registered of unnatural death and started investigating the incident. Meanwhile, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu expressed sorrow over the incident and announced a compensation of Rs four lakh to the next of kin from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. The Chief Minister also asked the villagers to avoid going to danger zones like the Army firing ranges.

In a similar incident, six people were killed and 18 others injured after an explosion took place at the Indian Army's ammunition depot in Wardha on November 20. The victims were rushed to the nearest civic hospital. According to an official, the blast took place during the process of destroying explosives. A probe was ordered to ascertain the reason behind the fatal incident.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 25, 2018 10:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).