A chicken coop was accidentally blown up by an Italian tank during an overnight military exercise.
A large number of birds were killed in the accident, which occurred last night, on the outskirts of Vivaro, a small town close to an army shooting range.
The damage caused by the tank was only discovered by the farm owners this morning when they saw part of their chicken shed had collapsed.It is believed the military would not have noticed the mistake immediately because the shot did not start a fire upon impact.
Local media report that magistrates in the nearby city of Pordenone have opened an investigation into the incident and have impounded the tanks involved in the exercise.
The investigation will look to answer why the tank had fired in the general direction of the town, rather than the area reserved for shooting - in the opposite direction․