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OTTAWA, March 6 (Reuters) - A Canadian soldier in Afghanistan died on Tuesday from a gunshot wound to the chest and enemy action has been ruled out as the cause, the defense ministry said.

Corporal Kevin Megeney, 25, is the 45th Canadian soldier to die since Ottawa sent troops to Afghanistan in 2002.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. quoted relatives as saying they had been told Megeney was accidentally shot by a colleague. A defense ministry spokeswoman declined to confirm this and would not say whether Megeney had committed suicide.

Megeney was on Canada's main base in the southern city of Kandahar when he died.

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