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A scrap metal collector was fatally injured in an explosion while dismantling an armed shell with a gas welder in the settlement of Bira, Jewish Autonomous Region, a press statement from the Russian Far East’s Department of Inner Affairs on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old man, whose name has not been disclosed, found a 120-millimeter heavy-caliber shell in the settlement outskirts, brought it home and began cutting it to deliver it to a scrap receiving station.

In the explosion which immediately followed, the man had his leg torn off and was taken to the hospital by an ambulance. He arrived in critical condition but later died.

No other casualties were reported in the incident, the statement reported.

The victim was unemployed and had earned his living by collecting metal scrap pieces and delivering it to the settlement’s scrap receiving points.

An inspection has been launched into the incident, the statement said.