A 15-year-old boy is reported dead while five others are battling for their lives in hospitals after unknown devices the children picked near Njuli Quarry Terrastone exploded.

Chiradzuru Police spokesperson Victoria Chirwa has confirmed of the development in an interview and identified the deceased as James Grey, a standard seven pupil at Matenjere primary school.

According to information at hand, the six children from Chikuse Village at around 4pm on Tuesday were playing with a suspected explosive material within the village which caused a blast after they put it on fire.

“One died on the spot, while the other is seriously injured and has been referred to Queens where he has had a successful chest surgery to remove metals,” said Chirwa.

Chirwa also disclosed that the other four children are admitted at Chiradzulu Hospital.

Postmortem results showed that Grey died due to severe external bleeding.

Meanwhile villagers have accused Terrastone Limited of neglecting safety standards of the area as used devices some of which include ropes that burst when they come in contact with fire are all over.