16 wounded in apparent accident with live ammo instead of blanks

Jun 29, 2008, 23:28 GMT

Paris - A demonstration of military techniques for use in hostage situations left 16 people wounded when a French soldier fired live ammunition instead of blanks, the French Defence Ministry said late Sunday.

The wounded included one soldier and 15 civilians in Paris in the incident at a military barracks in Carcassonne, France. Eleven of the injured had serious wounds, including a 3-year-old child and a second person in critical condition, local officials said.

The wounded civilians were all relatives of the soldiers stationed at the barracks, where marine infantry paratroopers were demonstrating combat techniques. Several earlier demonstrations had gone off without incident on a day when the military facility was open to the public.

The paratrooper who fired the live ammunition was detained and his equipment and weapons were seized for the ongoing investigation. There was no immediate explanation of how the shooting occurred, but initial accounts from authorities suggested an accident rather than foul play.