Five killed, two injured in a blast in Pakistan

PESHAWAR: At least five people were killed and two others injured in a blast on Tuesday when a scrap dealer was trying to dismantle mortar shells and landmines in northwest Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said.

The incident occurred at Camp Korana Akbar Pura village in Nowshera district of the province.

Initial reports revealed that locals gathered explosives like mortar shells and landmines in their houses from the Kabul river bank, where they got accumulated during the recent floods and rains, for sale at a scrap shop as they were unaware of the nature of the devices, District Police Officer (DPO) Najmul Husnain said.

The blast happened when a scrap dealer hit the devices to extract iron from it, killing five people standing nearby.

The deceased included two brothers and a scrap shop worker, the police official said.

The police have also recovered 25 more unattended mortar shells from the river bank during a search operation and warned the locals not to touch such devices.

The police have asked the locals to inform them if they found any such thing near the riverside.

Senior police officials along with a police team rushed to the site and supervised the relief and rescue activities.