By Dan Parker
An explosives disposal expert has been killed on the Waiouru army firing range when the unexploded artillery shell he was marking blew up.
He was flight sergeant Andrew Forster, 46, a veteran of similar work in Afghanistan.
Sergeant Forster was killed instantly when an old half-buried and rusty artillery shell, from a 105 mm howitzer, exploded.
A colleague of sergeant Forster’s was slightly injured and extremely lucky to escape with his life.
The shell had been fired on the army's range but had not detonated, and it exploded as the sergeant was hammering in a wooden stake to mark its position.
Sergeant Forster had been in the forces for 27 years, he leaves a wife and three children.
He had just come back from Afghanistan where he had been doing similar work.
Over the years the army has experienced various training accidents; in 2000 a soldier was injured when a grenade exploded.
Prime Minister John Key sent his condolences to the family, and thanked the army for their daily bravery.
“My condolences go to the families, the brave men and women of the New Zealand military constantly threaten their lives as they go about their duties,” he says.
“It’s a tragic case when a New Zealander is lost in service of his country and that's the situation today.”
Defence Minister Wayne Mapp says sergeant Forster’s particular duty carried with it a lot of danger.
“The activity he was undertaking was normal for the explosives squadron. It is inherently dangerous and brings home to all New Zealanders the risks our men and women put themselves in,” he says.
The army will have an investigation, with the police and the coroner involved.
3 News