NEW DELHI (NewsNation) — India said Friday it accidentally fired a missile into Pakistan this week because of a “technical malfunction” during routine maintenance, giving its version of events after longtime foe Pakistan warned the incident could have “unpleasant consequences.”
On Wednesday, “In the course of a routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile,” the Indian Ministry of Defense said in a statement. “It is learnt that the missile landed in an area of Pakistan. While the incident is deeply regrettable, it is also a matter of relief that there has been no loss of life due to the accident.”
Pakistani military spokesman Major-General Babar Iftikhar confirmed Thursday that the “high-speed flying object” crashed near its eastern city of Mian Channu and that it originated from the northern Indian city of Sirsa, in Haryana state near New Delhi.
“The flight path of this object endangered many national and international passenger flights both in Indian and Pakistani airspace as well as human life and property of ground,” he said.
The ministry said the government had “taken a serious view and ordered a high-level Court of Enquiry” into the incident. The accidental bombing comes as the Russia-Ukraine invasion stretches into a third week.
Pakistan previously warned India “to be mindful of the unpleasant consequences of such negligence and take effective measures to avoid the recurrence off such violations in future.”
Pakistan’s foreign office said it had summoned India’s charge d’affaires in Islamabad to lodge a protest over what it called an unprovoked violation of its airspace. Pakistan called for an investigation into the incident, which it said could have endangered passenger flights and civilian lives.
A Pakistan air force official said the object travelled at an altitude of 40,000 feet, at Mach 3, and flew 77 miles in Pakistani airspace before crashing.
Reuters contributed to this story.