Teen killed, two injured in shell explosion in Kargil

Kargil: A 13-year-old boy was killed and two others injured when an unexploded shell went off in a remote village in Kargil district of Ladakh on Sunday, police said.

The three teen boys were playing near the Astro football ground at Kurbathang when they found an unexploded mortar shell, believed to be from the 1999 Kargil war, and started fiddling with it resulting in its explosion, a police official said.

He said Baqir (13) succumbed to injuries on the way to a hospital while Ali Naqi and Muntazir Mehdi of the same age were admitted to the hospital.

Ladakh Lt Governor Brig (Retd) B D Mishra visited the injured boys in the hospital and assured the best treatment to them.

He also offered his condolences to the family of the deceased boy.

Councillor Pashkum, Kacho Mohd Feroz expressed concern over the incident and urged the administration to take immediate measures to clear the area of any unexploded bombs for the safety of the residents.