Shooter loses thumb after pistol's gas cylinder explosion at Karni Singh Range

In a bizarre incident a nationallevel shooter recently lost his left thumb when the 10m air pistol cylinder he was filling exploded at the Karni Singh RangePushpender Kumar a corporal with the Indian Air Force was training at the shooting range for the National Championships currently underway in Bhopal when he decapitated his thumb causing grave injuries which required immediate hospitalisation The Karni Singh Range accident occurred on Saturday eveningHe is currently admitted to Indian Armys RampR hospital hereA national coach told PTI on condition of anonymity that while Pushpender was filling compressed air into the pistol cylinder from the main cylinder the incident happenedAir pistols and air rifles have a sleek gas cylinder attached just below the barrel When the shooter presses the trigger the compressed gas in the cylinder is released which hits a hammer inside the air gun ejecting the lead pelletThe air pistols cylinder has to be filled after a certain number of shots with the help of a compressor or a portable cylinderEarlier carbon dioxide used to be the preferred gas to fill the cylinders but with the advancement in technology compressed air cylinders which look like smaller versions of LPG cylinders are used to fill the air pistol cylindersPushpender belongs to the Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh and while he has not competed in internationally he is a senior member of the IAF teamHe had lost his mother nearly a month backWe are hopeful Pushpender will make 9095 per cent recovery post surgery said the coachAir pistol cylinders have to be replaced after a certain period of time and the gun manufacturers do it for free Thankfully Pushpenders shooting arm is safeAlso Read Complete focus is on next years Paris Paralympics Shooter Avani LekharaThe coach added that he had not come across such an incident in his career though gun vendors say such incidents do happenIt is not known whether the air pistol was personal or belonged to the Air ForceIt is sad that he will not be able to compete in the national championships currently underway in Bhopal His mother had passed away some 1520 days back As far as I know he has not played internationally He usually trains at the Karni Singh range in Delhi the coach addedThe coach said that international rifle shooter from Meerut Ravi Kumar who is also with the IAF was with Pushpender at the Army hospital to take care of himAnother pistol coach at the Karni Singh range said that it is important that air pistol and rifle shooters replace their gun cylinders every 10 years or as directed by the weapon manufacturerThere is a possibility of a mishap if the refill cylinders are not replaced as directed by the manufacturers I dont know the exact cause of the blast but one should not take it lightly as once the validity expires anything can happen he said on condition of anonymityPushpender is a good shooter and I have known him for a long time What I have been told is that he has undergone a major surgery He is around 2830 years old Usually what happens is that the pressure gauge indicator on the air weapons cylinder starts malfunctioning giving incorrect reading It leads to overfilling of the cylinder which causes it to burst he addedWith agency inputs