Shimla, March 10 (IANS) Bodies of three schoolchildren, believed to have been killed in an explosion of abandoned ammunition, were found Tuesday in the forests of Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district, police said.

Police had launched a search after parents lodged a complaint when their children did not return home from school Tuesday evening.

'Bodies of three children, aged 10 to 12 years, were found in forests adjoining the army firing range around 9 p.m. tonight (Tuesday). They seemed to have died due to some explosion of abandoned mortars,' Superintendent of Police Atul Kumar Fulzele told IANS on phone.

He said the victims - Shail, Rahul and Chandan - belonged to Kohala village near Matour area in Kangra district, about 275 km from Shimla.

'Prima facie it seemed that the children were playing or they came in contact with some ammunition lying unused. The cause of their death is believed to be explosion of ammunition,' another police official said, adding 'some more shells were recovered from the spot'.

'A team of police's bomb disposal squad has reached the spot and is conducting the investigations,' he added.