SAMBA: Three people were injured in an explosion in an open field in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, officials said.

It is suspected that a rusted mortar shell exploded due to a fire.

The explosion occurred when some farmers were burning crop residue in the field in Khara Madhana village around 8.15 pm, the officials said.

They said three people sustained splinter injuries in the blast and were shifted to a hospital.

Police and forensic experts immediately rushed to the scene and preliminary investigation suggests that a rusted mortar shell might have exploded due to the fire, they added.

In the past, mortar shells have been recovered from fields.