Teen's hands blown apart by backyard bomb
Updated
A 15-year-old boy is recovering in hospital after his hands were ripped apart by a homemade bomb in a backyard west of Brisbane.
Police say a group of youths aged between 15 and 21 were playing behind a house in Dampier Street in Leichhardt when the golf ball-sized device exploded yesterday.
Authorities say neighbours called police when they heard the explosion.
The 15-year-old was taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital with serious blast injuries to his chest and both his hands.
He had surgery overnight and is now in a stable condition.
Some of the other youths were found at a nearby shopping centre and were taken to Ipswich hospital with minor injuries.
Inspector Keith McDonald says police are continuing their investigations.
"It would appear from enquiries conducted by bomb squad and also fire and rescue and scientific that it is a device shaped similar to a golf ball," he said.
"The most important thing is we appear to have located all the youths that were involved and were injured in the incident."
A nearby resident, who did not want to be named, said it was a chaotic scene.
"I was sitting in the lounge and I heard this massive explosion like fireworks," he said.
"[There was] some pretty horrendous screaming as some young fellas come running out of the backyard."
The house has been cordoned off until scientific officers complete their investigations.
Topics: disasters-and-accidents, leichhardt-4305, ipswich-4305, qld
First posted
The wondrous Skywhale balloon has taken flight in Canberra.
A Cherryville resident says a bushfire in the Adelaide Hills is stabilizing.
A candidate for one of Pakistan's political parties has been gunned down ahead of today's general election.
Malcolm Turnbull has relaunched the campaign for an Australian republic.
