2 minors die in grenade explosion in Dipolog City

ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE, Philippines – A 5-year-old boy and an 8-year-old boy died in an explosion the police believed to be caused by a rifle grenade in Barangay Sicayab, Dipolog City, at around 9:30 am Thursday, February 20. 

In an initial report, Police Lieutenant Colonel Charisse Yabo, spokesperson of the Zamboanga del Norte Police Provincial Office, said the two boys were playing in a room at the house of Nonamar Pasculado when the explosion happened.

Yabo said responding police and the City Disaster Risk Reduction Office found the lifeless bodies of the two boys riddled with splinter wounds.

“Investigation is still going on. We cordoned off the area, while K9 dogs of the police’s Explosives and Ordnance Division were sent to join in the investigation,” Yabo said.

One of the police investigating the case said that the presence of a rifle grenade in the hands of civilians in the city is alarming.

He did not elaborate further, but it indicates that there could be more loose firearms and explosives in the city that are not known to authorities. – Rappler.com