Two girls, both aged four, died in an explosion of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at Ranabada of Tilagupha Municipality-10 in Kalikot district on Saturday. Three other children sustained serious injuries in the blast.

The incident happened at around 8am. According to the District Police Office, the children recovered the IED in a millet field near the settlement. It is suspected that the children hit the ‘new object’ with a stone or played with the explosive out of curiosity, police said.

“It is not immediately clear whether the IED was planted targeting the upcoming elections or it was the remnant of decade-long armed insurgency,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police Jayashwor Rimal.

Police identified the deceased as Saraswati Rana and Jharana Thapa. According to police, Jharana died on the spot while Saraswati succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment at Provincial Hospital in Surkhet.

Kamal Thapa, age 7, Darshana Rana, 3, and Muskan Thapa, 5, sustained serious injuries in the explosion. Police said Kamal’s both legs and right hand were fractured while Darshana sustained serious injuries in her abdomen and legs. Likewise, Muskan sustained deep injuries in his right leg. A Nepal Army helicopter medevaced the injured children to Surkhet. The hospital said the injured children are out of danger.

The incident site is around 50 kilometres south-east from Manma, the district headquarters of Kalikot.

Security personnel from Nepal Army and Nepal Police reached the incident site soon after the explosion. According to Chief District Officer Ramhari Sharma, some shards of iron were recovered at the incident site.