Teenager killed after unexploded shell from 1999 Kargil War goes off

Kargil, July 29: A teenager died after an unexploded shell went off in the Pan-Drass area of Kargil district in Ladakh on Monday.

The incident occurred when the boy, Ahmad Raza, son of Farooq Ahmad of Rajouri, was grazing cattle near Targali meadows of Pan-Drass in Kargil.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Kargil, Shree Raam R told Greater Kashmir that the teenage nomadic boy died after an old unexploded shell went off near Pan-Drass area Kargil.

“The boy was grazing animals in Tar-Gali, Pan-Drass area when he found a rusted shell.  The shell exploded when he was fiddling with it.  The boy died on the spot,” he said.

The SSP said the unexploded shell was believed to have been present in the meadows since the Kargil War of 1999.

Following the explosion, a Police team and Army personnel reached the site.

They discovered two more unexploded shells in the vicinity which would be destroyed safely.

Police said that the body had been taken for medico-legal formalities and later handed over to the family for last rites.