Jayapura, Papua. A soldier trying to check whether the firearm of a senior officer was empty before boarding a flight on Monday at Mopah Airport in Merauke, Papua, accidentally killed a boy waiting nearby and critically injured the child's father.

Chief Pvt. Dedy wanted to make sure the FN pistol of Lt. Col. Joko Pitoyo from the Cenderawasih military command was not loaded, pointing it at a wooden partition and pulling the trigger to make sure.

However, the gun went off and the bullet killed 6-year-old Novan in a waiting area for passengers on the other side of the partition.

The boy's father, 32-year-old Sugiono, was also hit and remained in critical condition on Monday.

Officers with the Merauke Military Police were investigating the incident.