PATNA, India (AP): An Indian army mortar shell fired during a training session fell short of its target and exploded in a village house in the country’s east on Wednesday, killing a young couple and a neighbor, a government official said.
The couple was visiting Gulvared, a village in Gaya district in Bihar state, to celebrate the Hindu “Holi” festival with the woman’s parents when the incident occurred, state official Pankaj Kumar said.
Two other people were injured when the shell landed in the house’s courtyard, Kumar said.
The army did not immediately comment on the incident.
The village is located 120 kilometers (65 miles) south of Patna, the state capital, near the army firing range.
Other accidents have been reported near the military site over the past year.
A civilian was killed near the firing range last year when a shell exploded as he was trying to remove brass from it to sell, media reports said. In another incident in December, at least 10 people were injured while they collected wood near the firing range for use in cooking and to sell.
