16 injured in rescue exercise

A soldier using live ammunition instead of blanks wounded 16 people at a demonstration of hostage-rescue techniques in France, officials said.

The Defense Ministry said investigators would look into why real bullets were used during the demonstration at the Laperrine military barracks in the southeast.

The soldier who fired the shots has been detained, Bernard Lemaire, chief of the regional administration in Aude, said on France-3 television. He said the shooting was probably accidental but that it could have been a criminal act.

Four of the wounded were in serious condition, including a 3-year-old. Fifteen were civilians.

President Nicolas Sarkozy’s office said he reacted with “horror and deep emotion” to the incident at the base, which houses the 3rd marine infantry parachute regiment.