2 soldiers killed in Bikaner while loading ammunition in tank during training

Two soldiers were killed and one injured in Bikaner's Mahajan field firing range while loading ammunition in a tank during a training exercise on Wednesday, the second fatal incident in the range this week.

The charger exploded while they were loading the ammunition, said Defence spokesperson Lt Col Amitabh Sharma.

“Two soldiers have died in the incident and one is injured,” he said.

Local police officials rushed to the spot as soon as information about the blast came in.

“Three soldiers were practising with the tank. Ashutosh Mishra and Jitendra died in the explosion. The injured soldier has been taken to Chandigarh in a helicopter,” Circle Officer Lunkaransar (Bikaner) Narendra Kumar Poonia said.

While Mishra was from Deoria in Uttar Pradesh, Jitendra came from Dausa in Rajasthan. Their bodies were taken to the Suratgarh military station.

On Sunday, gunner Chandra Prakash Patel died when he was hooking a gun with the gun towing vehicle. The vehicle suddenly slipped backwards. Patel was fatally injured.