DHAKA: Russian officials say the 94-year-old designer of the AK-47 assault rifle has been hospitalised.

The health department of the province of Udmurtia said in Monday’s statement carried by the Interfax news agency that Mikhail Kalashnikov is in an emergency unit, reports The Straits Times.

It said he was rushed to the hospital Sunday, but didn’t elaborate on his condition.

Kalashnikov spent two weeks at a local cardiology clinic in May and was later flown to Moscow for further treatment.

The AK-47 is the world’s most popular firearm with an estimated 100 million spread worldwide. Its name stands for ‘Avtomat Kalashnikova’, or Kalashnikov’s automatic, and the year it went into production.

BDST: 1540 HRS, NOV 18, 2013
RoR/BSK