Four Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were injured, two of them seriously, in an accidental blast during the disposal of unserviceable and leftover explosives in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district on Thursday evening, news agency PTI reported, quoting police.
The incident occurred near the Elarmadgu security camp under the jurisdiction of Bheji police station, according to PTI.
An Ammunition Technical Team (ATT) of the CRPF’s 50th battalion had arrived from Jagdalpur at the camp under the Konta range to inspect security camps in the area and safely dispose of unserviceable and leftover explosives, an official told PTI.
The team was carrying out the disposal operation near Bodrajpadar Nala, around 200 metres from the security camp, while following prescribed safety protocols when a fragment of an explosive accidentally flew off, landed nearby and detonated, the official said, according to the report.
Four personnel deployed for security and the disposal operation were injured in the blast.
The injured were identified as Assistant Sub-Inspectors M K Tiwari and Anees Khan, Inspector Amarnath Mishra and Head Constable Kuldeep Raj, all from the CRPF’s 50th battalion. Both ASIs sustained serious injuries, the official told the news agency.
The injured personnel were given first aid immediately after the incident and shifted to the government hospital in Konta, where they are undergoing treatment.
Arrangements were being made to shift the two seriously injured personnel to another medical facility for advanced treatment, PTI reported, quoting the official.
(With inputs from PTI)