Two labourers suffered serious injuries when a bomb buried underground exploded in Jashore on Wednesday morning.
The blast occurred around 8:30am in Balunda Dakshinpara village of Sharsha upazila.
Locals rushed the injured men to Jashore 250-bed General Hospital, where doctors said one of them remains in a critical condition.
The injured were identified as Zakir Hossain, 65, son of Abdul Barik of Balunda village, and Abdul Qader, 60, son of late Nuzzak Mia. Doctors said Zakir sustained severe injuries to his body and face.
According to local residents and police, the two labourers were digging soil at the homestead of an expatriate named Zakir to build a bathroom structure.
While digging with a spade at an estimated depth of one and a half feet near the Kachari pond embankment, they struck a bomb buried underground.
The bomb exploded instantly with a loud sound, shaking the surrounding area and leaving both men bleeding on the ground.
Abdul Qader said they were working beside the house in the morning when the spade hit the buried bomb, triggering the explosion.
He mentions Zakir suffered the worst injuries in the blast.
Sharsha police station officer-in-charge Maruf Hossain said police visited the spot immediately after receiving information.
He said preliminary findings suggest that someone had buried the bomb earlier with sabotage intentions. Police collected evidence from the site.
He added that police are investigating whether more explosive devices were planted in the area and have launched a detailed probe into the incident.
