4 Indonesian soldiers killed, 8 injured in a military training accident

Four Indonesian soldiers have been killed and eight others injured by artillery fire in an accident during training on a South China Sea island, the army said on Thursday.

It took place on Wednesday when an artillery cannon malfunctioned during the exercise involving an army reserve battalion on Tanjung Datuk Natuna, on the northwestern fringe of the vast Indonesian archipelago.

“The cannon became uncontrollable and hit soldiers in the vicinity,” army spokesman Alfret Denny Tuejeh told AFP.

Of the eight hurt, four suffered serious injuries, he said. The cannon, purchased in 2003, was used a day before without any problem, he added. The military have begun an investigation to find out what caused the incident.

The island is part of the small Natuna archipelago, remote Indonesian islands in the South China Sea, home to rich fishing grounds and abundant oil reserves.

(INDIANEXPRESS)