Four Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were injured, two of them seriously, in an accidental blast during the disposal of unserviceable and leftover explosives in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district, police said.

The incident took place on Thursday evening near Elarmadgu security camp within the jurisdiction of the Bheji police station, they said.

An Ammunition Technical Team of the 50th battalion of the CRPF had arrived from Jagdalpur at the Elarmadgu camp under the Konta range to inspect various camps in the area and safely dispose of unserviceable and leftover explosives, said an official.

The team was carrying out the disposal process following prescribed safety protocols near Bodrajpadar Nala, around 200 metres from the security camp, when a fragment of an explosive accidentally flew, landed nearby, and exploded, he said.

Four personnel deployed for security and the disposal operation were injured in the blast, the official said.

The injured were identified as Assistant Sub-Inspector M K Tiwari and Inspector Amarnath Mishra, both members of the ATT team, and ASI Anees Khan and Head Constable Kuldeep Raj of the 50th battalion of the CRPF, he said.

Both ASIs have sustained serious injuries, he said.

Immediately after the blast, the injured personnel were provided first aid and shifted to the government hospital in Konta, the official said.

Arrangements were being made to shift those seriously injured to another medical facility for advanced care, he said.