KIEV, Ukraine: Ukrainian police say a 25-year-old chemistry student has been killed by exploding bubble gum that tore off half of his face.

Police spokeswoman Elvira Biganova told The Associated Press yesterday that the student accidentally dipped the gum into explosives he was using for studies. She said the student, Vladimir Likhonos, mistook the powder for the citric acid he habitually added for the sour taste.

Biganova says Likhonos, from the town of Konotop in northeast Ukrainian, blew off his jaw and most of the lower part of his face.

She said on the table where he had been working police found about 100 grams of the suspected explosive, a powder that resembles citric acid but has yet to be identified. (AP)