One killed in artillery shell explosion at Army range in Maha

A 56-year-old man was killed when an artillery shell exploded at the Army's Karjune Khare range

in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra on Friday, police said. The incident took place around 11.15 am, an official

"The deceased, Bhiva Sadhu Gaikwad, had entered the defence area and was collecting the artillery shells that were

fired from tanks as part of the shelling exercise," he said. "While collecting the scrap, Gaikwad picked up an

artillery shell. When he was tampering with it, it exploded," the official said.

Gaikwad suffered serious injuries and was rushed to a hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival, he said.

A case of accidental death has been registered at the MIDC police station in Ahmednagar, the official added.

Spread over 30,000 acres, the Karjune Khare range has the largest display of military tanks in the country. The

village is around 1.5 kms from the firing range. According to police, this is the fourth incident at

the range in the last three-and-a-half years where a villager has died in a similar blast.