KEY POINTS:
A soldier is in Christchurch Hospital after shooting himself in the thigh during a training exercise at the army's West Melton firing range, southwest of the city, this morning.
He was reported to have a broken femur and was expected to undergo surgery.
Lieutenant Colonel Phil McKee, commander of 3rd Land Force Group, based at the Burnham Military Camp, said the soldier, who has not been named, was treated at the scene by army medics and transferred to hospital by a Westpac rescue helicopter.
A St John spokesman told NZPA paramedics who were called to the firing range at 10.12am reported the soldier had serious injuries.
Lt Col McKee said the army's thoughts were with the soldier and his family.
An army investigation into the incident is under way.
Last November two New Zealand soldiers were wounded when a Steyr rifle was accidentally discharged into the American Humvee vehicle they were riding in during a patrol in Afghanistan.
The accident happened when one soldier's Steyr rifle discharged as he climbed into the Humvee.
The soldier with the rifle was shot in the leg, the other was shot in the arm and side.
Four army personnel were inside the Humvee, which was returning to their Bamyan base after escorting foreign nationals to a Kabul airfield.
- NZPA
