Seventeen people have been injured, including a child left in a critical condition, after French soldiers fired live bullets instead of blanks during an open day display.Fifteen civilians and two soldiers were injured in the incident which involved a demonstration by members of a marines parachute regiment of hostage liberation exercises. Four of the 17 were seriously injured, with two described as critical, following 'incomprehensible' scenes at the barracks near Carcassone, in the country's south-west.
According to local authorities, five children who were watching the display were among those hurt. Five helicopters, 11 fire brigade first-aid vehicles and two ambulances rushed to the scene and ferried the injured to at least five hospitals.
One soldier had been detained last night. Although no explanation was immediately forthcoming for why the wrong ammunition was loaded into weapons, police said there was no suggestion it was a deliberate act. No information was available about what sort of weapons had been used. 'All hypotheses are being considered,' said a national police spokesman, adding that the weapons had been 'seized and placed under lock and key.'
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he urgently awaited the results of a top-level military probe into the incident, adding that he 'shares with the families the pain caused by this drama.'
'My first thoughts are with the victims. Everything will be put in place to care for them,' Mr Sarkozy said.
Herve Morin, France's defence minister, went 'immediately' to Carcassone after being told of the incident, he said in a statement.
Colonel Benoit Royal, head of the army's information unit, said a number among the injured were from military families.
Bernard Lemaire, the chief of the regional administration in Aude, said that investigators believed the deadly ammunition was loaded by mistake. 'The question being asked is 'Did the soldier engage in a criminal act or not?',' Mr Lemaire said. 'For now, no one can answer that, but the theory being worked on is one of error.'