India fires missile into Pakistan in 'deeply regrettable' accident - Metro.co.uk

The incident (not pictured) was due to a ‘technical malfunction’ (Picture: Getty Images)

India’s military has admitted to ‘accidentally’ firing a missile into Pakistan.

No one was killed in the ‘deeply regrettable’ incident on Wednesday, New Delhi’s Defence Ministry said.

A ‘technical malfunction’ has been blamed, with officials ordering a high-level investigation.

The confession came after Pakistan’s armed forces accused India of putting lives in danger with the ‘unprovoked violation of its airspace’.

A warning has been issued for the country ‘to be mindful of the unpleasant consequences of such negligence and take effective measures to avoid the recurrence off such violations in future’.

The neighbours – which both have nuclear weapons – have fought three wars and have engaged in numerous military clashes.

The ‘high-speed flying object’ crashed near the eastern city of Mian Channu after coming from the northern Indian city of Sirsa, in Haryana state.

It travelled at an altitude of 40,000 feet, at three times the speed of sound, and flew 77 miles in Pakistani airspace before crashing.

Pakistan has warned India ‘to be mindful’ following the missile blast (not pictured) (Picture: Indian Press Information Bureau/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A soldier salutes next to an Akash missile system during India’s 73rd Republic Day (Picture: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

In dramatic scenes, Pakistan’s foreign office summoned India’s charge d’affaires in Islamabad to lodge a protest over the incident.

Military spokesman Major-General Babar Iftikhar said in a late evening news conference on Thursday: ‘The flight path of this object endangered many national and international passenger flights both in Indian and Pakistani airspace as well as human life and property of ground.’

A statement released by India’s Ministry of Defence today read: ‘On 9 March 2022, in the course of a routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile.

‘The Government of India has taken a serious view and ordered a high-level Court of Enquiry.

‘It is learnt that the missile landed in an area of Pakistan.

‘While the incident is deeply regrettable, it is also a matter of relief that there has been no loss of life due to the incident.’

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2022-03-11 13:38:00Z
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