A 62-year-old man was killed when a muzzle-loading hunting gun went off while he was out hunting with a group of friends in Salyan district on Friday evening.

The victim, Top Bahadur Pun Magar of Barahadhunga in Kalimati Rural Municipality-2, was shot in the abdomen in Dharani Community Forest in Kalimati-3, according to Deputy Superintendent of Police Deepak Patali, chief of the District Police Office, Salyan. He died at the scene.

Police have yet to determine who fired the gun. Patali said the group was large, and it was not immediately clear whose weapon discharged the fatal shot.

Police have arrested six people who were with Pun Magar during the hunting trip. They have been identified as 43-year-old Juddha Bahadur Reule, 32-year-old Khagendra Bahadur Reule, 35-year-old Seturam Thapa, 59-year-old Kul Bahadur Budhathoki, 72-year-old Padam Bahadur Shirish Magar and Man Bahadur BK.

Police also seized guns from the group.

A police team from the Area Police Office in Luham has reached the scene and is investigating the incident. Patali said preparations were underway to bring Pun Magar’s body to Salyan District Hospital for a post-mortem.