A grenade exploded in a residential area of the Cibungbulang sub-district of Bogor Regency in West Java yesterday at around 2 pm, tragically killing two young boys and wounding another.
According to reports, on Feb 10, the three boys were playing with the grenade — presumably not knowing it was still live — which they found at a military shooting range. Some reported that the grenade was inside a milk can.
“The boys were playing around the shooting range and found the object that we suspect to be a grenade. So they brought it home and used it as a toy. They hit it until it exploded,” Lieutenant Colonel Harry Eko Sutrisno, commandant of the 0621 Military District where the incident occurred, said yesterday, as quoted by Kompas.
The grenade killed a 10-year-old boy, identified by his initials MM, on the spot. Another victim, a 14-year-old boy identified by his initials MD, succumbed to his heavy injuries as he was being prepped for surgery yesterday evening. The sole survivor of the explosion, a boy identified as 10-year-old KI, is still undergoing intensive care.
The military says it’s investigating how a live grenade could have been lying around unattended in the military training facility. They are also urging parents to ensure that their children do not stray into military facilities.
