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George Iype in Cochin
A senior engineer of the Defence Research and Development Organisation was killed and three others were severely injured in a mysterious blast during the assembling of a Trishul missile at the Naval Armament Depot in Aluva, near Cochin, on Tuesday evening.
The DRDO has identified the dead engineer as P Upendar, 50. Upendar received the full impact of the blast as he was near the rocket. The injured technicians are Ravikumar, Abraham Cherian and Ganesh Babu.
The eardrums of the injured have been damaged. While Ravikumar's right hand has been lacerated, Cherian sustained serious injuries on his neck. They are being treated at the Ernakulam Medical Centre.
DRDO officials have ruled out sabotage. A senior DRDO official told rediff.com that rocket parts of the Trishul missile were brought to the Naval Armament Depot from the Hyderabad-based Bharat Dynamics Limited.
Officials said the exploded missile had not been fitted with any warhead as it was still in the developmental stage.
The explosion occurred when the DRDO team was testing the continuity of the electrical circuit with a 28 volt current. The blast took place in the propulsion system of the missile, which was to be test-fired from LNS Dronacharya later this month.
The DRDO has ordered an inquiry into the incident. Officials said a high-level team of DRDO engineers will be reaching Cochin on Wedesnday to begin the probe.
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