A 10-year-old child died, and another 11-year-old was taken to a hospital in a critical condition after a grenade exploded in the courtyard of a residential block in the city of Criuleni.

Criuleni Police spokesperson Irina Burdujan told IPN that on Wednesday at around 5:00 pm, the ten-year-old boy came to the playground and told one of his playmates that he had something resembling a grenade at home, which he was then asked to go and bring out. The object exploded as the boys were playing with it. As he held the grenade right in his hand, the ten-year-old died instantly. The other boy was rushed to the district hospital.

An investigation is ongoing to establish how the family of the dead boy ended up having a grenade in their home.

Criuleni Hospital director Sergiu Halipli told IPN that the injured child was stabilized before being taken to the Mother and Child Institute in Chisinau. A woman was also mildly hurt in the explosion, but she refused hospitalization.

Contacted by IPN, Mother and Child Institute spokesperson Maxim Cazacu said last night the boy underwent a surgical operation to remove shrapnel. He is currently in the intensive care department in a critical but stable condition.