A boy was killed and four children suffered grave injuries when some explosive device they were toying with went off on Wednesday afternoon in a village in Shopian district.
A police official said five children, aged between 6 and 12 years, were injured in Sheikh Naad, Meemender, when they were fiddling with some explosives device in their courtyard.
All the injured were immediately rushed to District Hospital Shopian, where Soleha Iqbal, 9, son of Muhammad Iqbal Malik, succumbed to his injuries, the official said.
The other four injured children were referred to the SMHS Hospital, Srinagar, for specialised treatment.
“All the injured had multiple splinters lodged in their bodies,” a health official said.
The injured have been identified as Razia Khursheed, 7, daughter of Khursheed Ahmad Sheikh; Tahir Khursheed, 12, son of Kursheed Ahmad Sheikh; Arsalan Aslam, 8, son of Muhammad Aslam Sheikh and Musaib Shabir, 8, son of Shabir Ahmad Ganie.
A senior police official said that a case has been registered and investigations initiated to ascertain the nature of the explosion.