Blast in playground kills boy, injures five

TANK A teenager was killed while seven others received serious injuries when an explosive device went off here in a playground on Wednesday. The deceased was identified as Mohammad Shoaib while the injured included Shahzaib, Qudratullah, Asad Khan, Abid, Anis and Adnan. The injured were rushed to Civil Hospital wherefrom four of them were shifted to Dera Ismail Khan due to their critical condition. According to SP (investigation) Abdul Qayyum Jan, the nature of the blast could not be determined exactly due to non-availability of bomb disposal squad. He said the explosive was of low intensity. The blast created panic and chaos among the residents. AFP adds: Some children were playing at a playground and a blast took place in a nearby garbage heap, killing one child and wounding five others, Tank police chief Ejaz Abid told AFP. Children found a toy from the garbage heap and when they were playing with it, it exploded, he added. Sadaqat Paracha, 10, told AFP by telephone that he was playing cricket with his friends and went to fetch the ball from the corner of the playground when he found a ball of steel on the pile of rubbish. I threw the ball towards the other children and as soon as it hit the ground, an explosion occurred and I received wounds on my foot, forehead and shoulder, Paracha said from hospital. Sheeraz Ahmed, another child, said that the bomb looked like a steel football and as soon as the ball touched the ground, it exploded. Local police official Mohammad Ali Khan confirmed the toll, and said bomb disposal experts were at the scene. The child who died in the blast is nine years old, and the wounded are between five and twelve years old, Ali said.