DATIA: A 17-year-old youth was killed and two other civilians were severely injured on Friday in the explosion of a piece of ammunition at the Army's firing range in Madhya Pradesh's Datia district, police said.

The incident took place around 9 am near Jaitpur village, and the injured persons were rushed to a hospital in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, said Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sunil Kumar Shivhare.

The deceased was identified as Gangaram (17), while Ramu (23) and Manoj (16) were injured, the ASP said.

The area falls under the jurisdiction of Basai police station, 80 km from Datia city.

As per the preliminary probe, a piece of unexploded ammunition lying on the ground went off when one of victims picked it up, the official said.

People living in nearby villages often collect fired ammunition to sell as scrap, from which metals like copper can be retrieved.

The practise is, however, extremely risky, as unexploded ammunition can go off.

Further probe was on, ASP Shivhare said.