The Defence Forces has launched an investigation after a trainee soldier was injured and hospitalised when a pyrotechnic device detonated in a classroom in Cathal Brugha Barracks in Co Dublin.
The soldier was taken to hospital following the incident yesterday afternoon but was discharged later that evening.
The Defence Forces said it takes the safe handling of weapons very seriously and that it endeavours to ensure all personnel are trained to the highest of standards.
It added that there was no accidental discharge of a weapon during the drill at the barracks but that a "back-blast" simulator was accidentally triggered in a training room.
Two soldiers had been engaged in the drills at the time which are designed to prepare them for the firing of short range anti armour weapons (SRAAW).
The "back-blast" is a pyrotechnic device used to simulates the noise of firing the short-range weapons, to better prepare the soldiers for live firing.
The Defence Forces said the operation was conducted under supervision and that no projectile was discharged from the weapon as part of this exercise.
In a statement it said the accidental activation of a pyrotechnic device was "a rare event" and an investigation is currently ongoing.
