Balasore July 25 :Panic spread in Maharudrapur village in Balasore district after a 155 mm shell test fired from Dhanush howitzer at a defence facility off Odisha coast fell in the human habitation after deviating from its intended path.<\/p>\n
A family had a narrow escape as the shell landed near their cowshed. Though no one was hurt, villagers alleged the consequences would have been fatal had it landed on any crowded place or anyone’s house. Sources said the shell was fired from the Proof and Experimental Establishment (PXE), a unit of DRDO at Chandipur-on-sea on Friday as part of an experimental firing to gauge the performance of the howitzer.<\/p>\n
Dhanush is the first made-in-India version of the Bofors gun and its maximum firing range is about 38 km. User trials of the howitzer were being conducted when the shell travelled over 25 km before falling on the ground.<\/p>\n
Sources said defence personnel were patrolling near the point of impact along the coast during the test firing. Deviating from its path the shell moved towards the human habitation and landed near the cattle-shed of Akshayananda Das. “Luckily we escaped unhurt as the shell did not explode. With the help of other villagers we dug up the area where it landed and recovered the shell weighing around 50 kg. It was then handed over to the defence personnel,” said Das.<\/p>\n
Refusing to divulge details about the test firing, a defence official of PXE said the shell has been retrieved. “The shell was fired for its full range. We are analysing the data to ascertain why it deviated from the path,” he said and termed it as an accident.<\/p>\n
Earlier, fishermen of two coastal villages in Balasore district had fished out unmanned aerial vehicle Banshee from the sea twice in a gap of three months last year. The pilot-less target aircraft was flight tested from the Integrated Test Range (ITR). The British-made target drone fell on their net when they had gone fishing.<\/p>\n