One person died and three others were critically injured following a blast in Moyo district. The incident occurred on Thursday in Oyajo Village, Eria parish, Moyo sub-county.
The deceased has been identified as Joseph Apina, a resident of Oyajo Village, Eria parish, Moyo sub-county, while the injured are Aciga Emmanuel, Henry Drani and Saviour Matedra, all residents of the same village.
Ignatius Dragudu, the North West Nile Region Police Spokesperson said that the victims had gone to mine sand for home use when they came across a metallic device. According to Dragudu, without having proper knowledge about the device, the victims started playing with the device prompting it to explode causing severe injuries to their body parts like hand and face.
According to police, Apina succumbed to injuries after he was rushed to Moyo General Hospital for treatment. Meanwhile, the other three victims are still admitted to the same health facility.
Inyasio Andreli, the LCIII Chairperson of Moyo sub-county described the incident as unfortunate. He cautioned the residents to desist from playing with suspicious devices but rather report to relevant authorities.
According to local accounts, the explosive device was left behind during the insurgency in the 1970s.
The latest incident comes nearly two years after a grenade explosion in Koboko Municipality killed a child and injured five others. The children discovered the rusty grenade in the river and one of them tried to hit on the stone to remove the rust so that they could use it as a microphone.
