CHENNAI: A 21-year-old engineering student on a trek was killed and four others injured on Monday evening when one of them kicked an unexploded ordnance which then detonated, close to the Hanumanthapuram firing range near Singaperumal Koil.

The victim, Himanshu Yadav from Bengaluru, was a fourth-year electrical and electronics engineering student of SRM Engineering College. The incident occurred around 5.30 pm when six students climbed a hill near the firing range without authorisation. When they reached the hilltop, the youngsters spotted a metal object. Without knowing what it was, one of them kicked it, causing it to hit a rock and explode.

Yadav suffered injuries to his chest, shoulder, and arm, and died on the spot. Among the others, Vishal Venugopal (21) from Hyderabad, who sustained severe hand and finger injuries, and Aryan Sharma (21) from Uttar Pradesh, Krishna Siraj Mahajan (21) from Jammu, and Nishkas Niraj (21) from New Delhi were taken by a 108 ambulance to SRM Hospital in Potheri for treatment. Another student, Virat Sanjay Kumar (23) of Meerut, escaped unhurt.

The area is used by security forces for firing drills, and authorities suspect the device was an unexploded shell left behind.

The Singaperumal Koil police have registered a case and launched an investigation. Senior officers visited the site, and further inquiries are under way to determine how the explosive remained in the area.