17 hurt as grenade explodes accidentally at Sri Lanka ehibition

0 Comments | AFP, February, 2007

COLOMBO (AFP) — At least 17 people were hurt when a grenade was accidentally detonated during a demonstration by a police officer at an exhibition in the capital marking Sri Lanka's independence, police said.

"We have ruled out anyone hurling a grenade at the stall of the STF (Special Task Force) commandos," the officer said Tuesday, adding the incident was now being investigated as an accident.

The STF was not supposed to have live explosives at the exhibition venue, the officer said, adding that "an officer was showing a hand grenade to spectators when it went off" at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference centre.

"We suspect the man was trying to show how to defuse a bomb when the blast occurred," a police investigator said on Tuesday.

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