Melbourne, Dec 9 : A Russian chemistry student is said to have been killed by what is believed to be an exploding chewing gum.

According to Russian news agency Ria Novosti, the 25-year-old chemistry student was found dead with his jaw blown off after he was working on a computer at his parents’ house in the Ukraine city of Konotop.

“A loud pop was heard from the student’s room,” the Herald Sun quoted a city police chief aide as telling ukranews. com.

“When his relatives entered the room they saw that the lower part of the young man’s face had been blown off,” the aide added.

The man, who was studying at Ukraine’s Kiev Polytechnic Institute, was known for his habit of dipping chewing gum in citric acid.

The police found both citric acid packets and “some kind of explosive material” on a table in his parent’s room.

They believe he may have confused the two packets, dipping the gum into the explosive material rather than the citric acid.

Forensic experts will travel from Kiev on December 10 to investigate the substance, as local authorities fear it may explode if transported. (ANI)