Accidental blast: Four, including three children killed in Chaman explosion

Police say explosives stored in a house went off after being mishandled.

QUETTA:

At least four people, including three children, were killed while 10 others, including two women and six minors, were injured when three mud houses collapsed as a result of an explosion in Chaman in the early hours of Thursday.

The incident took place in Killi Mohammad Rasool, just two kilometres from the Afghan border. “It seems that explosives were stored inside one of the houses. Four people were killed while 10 were injured,” Deputy Commissioner Abdul Fateh Bhangar said.

The house where the explosion occurred is owned by an Afghan, Sardar Mohammad Barakzai, who was injured in the incident. “Initial investigations suggested that people may have mishandled the explosives inside the house causing the deadly blast,” a senior police officer told The Express Tribune. He, however, said there was also a possibility that someone might have planted explosives inside the house. “The house owners recently hosted some guests and it is possible someone stowed these explosive there before leaving the house,” he said.

The deceased and the injured were taken to a nearby state-run hospital while personnel of the Balochistan Levies and other law enforcement agencies cordoned off the area and started a search operation. Funeral prayers of the victims were offered in Chaman. The injured persons were being questioned, officials said.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 15^th, 2011.