Three Indian military officers sacked after nuclear-capable missile 'accidentally' fired into Pakistan

The BrahMos missile takes off from India's main missile testing centre.

While the world's eyes were trained on Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine and China's sabre-rattling over Taiwan, a catastrophic blunder has almost led to conflict between two other nuclear-armed nations.

India has just sacked three senior military officers after the accidental firing of a nuclear-capable missile into the territory of its arch-rival and neighbour Pakistan, miraculously avoiding killing or injuring anyone.

Delhi claimed the "deeply regrettable" incident on March 9 was the result of a "technical malfunction".

Islamabad shot back that India should brace for "unpleasant consequences" if anything similar ever happens again.

The BrahMos nuclear-capable cruise missile that was fired is jointly developed by India and Russia.

It is believed to have a range of up to 500km, making it capable of hitting Islamabad if launched from northern India.

Pakistan said the missile hurtled across its skies at Mach 3 speeds - over 3700km/h - at 12,000ft before crashing 124km inside Pakistan's borders in Punjab.

It "endangered many passenger and international flights in Indian and Pakistani airspace", Islamabad said, and also "human life and property on the ground".

The missile was not carrying a nuclear payload.

The incident was immediately played down by India's ally the US, with State Department spokesperson Ned Price saying there was nothing to suggest it was "anything other than an accident".

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian has called for an investigation of the launch. Photo / AP

But China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian called for "a thorough investigation" and said measures should be taken to avoid any similar incidents.

The disastrous blunder is just the latest blow-up between the two hostile nations.

Both countries claim ownership of the disputed region of Kashmir, which has led to skirmishes in recent years.

There are fears that any prolonged conflict between the neighbouring states could spiral into a nuclear war, with both countries possessing powerful nuclear arsenals.

Pakistan is thought to have up to 120 nuclear weapons, while India is said to have about 110.

Their hostile relationship dates back to the Partition of India in 1947 when Britain divided the colony of British India into sovereign dominions - India and Pakistan.

The partition displaced as many as 15 million people, with Muslims and Hindus forced to migrate in opposite directions to reach Pakistan and India respectively.

Bangladesh would later secede from Pakistan, taking much of what was left of Pakistan's Hindus with it.

A recent study in the scientific journal Nature Food made a grim prediction of what could happen if Pakistan and India ever did trade nuclear blows.

Even a "small" nuclear exchange between them would have catastrophic implications.

The handful of weapons both nations possess would kill some 52 million people instantly. They would also eject more than 16 teragrams (16 trillion grams) of soot into the stratosphere.

National borders will not constrain this. Instead, the soot will quickly be picked up by high-altitude jet streams and circle the world.

The result would be a global famine killing an additional 926,000,000 people within two years.