Fisherman dies in missile remnant explosion

Kendrapada, Apr 15 (UNI) A fisherman was killed when the remnants of a missile, collected by him from the deep sea, burst while he was trying to extract metal from it.

Police here today said 26-year-old fisherman Santu Mandal, a resident of Jyotiprasad under Talachua Police outpost under Rajnagar police station, was critically injured ten days back when the remnants of a tested missile exploded in his house.

He was rushed to the District Headquarters hospital where he succumbed to his injuries after undergoing treatment for a few days.

The fisherman had collected the remnants of the tested missile from the sea while catching fish inside the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary.

The officials of Missile Test Range (MTR) of Wheeler island had in the past warned the people not to venture into the sea, its beaches and its nearby mangrove forests after the missile test to collect the remnants of missile.

But the residents of Talachua, Rangani, Dhamara and Chandipur in clear violation of standing instruction, searched sea and its nearby areas by risking their lives to collect the remnants of missile with an aim to get a meagre amount of rupees from middlemen.

According to villagers, some middlemen approached them just before the missile test and provided money in advance to the inhabitants and entrusted them to collect the remnants of the missile.

'' We have already directed the villagers not to collect any part of the missiles and also told them that the authorities have imposed prohibition about 55 km radius towards south of Missile Test Ranges in Chandipur and Wheelers Island, '' police stated.

But the inhabitants allegedly entered into the prohibition zone for collecting the parts of missile, which contained highly explosive objects like Tri Nitrogen Tounene (TNT), including brass and lead.

UNI XC-DP SJC SP KP194