‘Wartime Relic’ explodes under campfire in Austria, injuring five children

Five children were injured in Austria when a “wartime relic” beneath their campfire exploded, authorities there said Sunday.

The object was under the firepit when it exploded about 8 p.m. local time Saturday, according to a police statement. The accident happened in the Freistadt district, an area in the northern state of Upper Austria, the statement said.

Melanie Kleiffner, a police spokesperson, said Sunday that investigators believed that the relic likely dated from World War II, but that it was not possible to provide more definitive information while the investigation was ongoing.

Kleiffner said the children had been attending a youth camp in the town of St. Oswald Bei Freistadt when the accident happened.

“They were sitting around the fire, enjoying their time, and suddenly it exploded,” she said in a telephone interview, adding that they had spent around an hour in the area before the explosion without incident.

The injured children, ages 10 to 14, were taken to a children’s hospital in the city of Linz for further treatment, the police statement said. The five children were released from hospital Saturday after being treated for minor injuries, said Astrid Petritz, a spokesperson for Kepler University Hospital. “They were lucky. There were no heavy wounds,” she added.

Officers at the scene of the explosion later identified a second wartime relic at a nearby firepit. Police said a team of bomb disposal experts was at the scene.

Local officials have closed the area immediately surrounding the firepits until Monday to allow for further investigation, Kleiffner said.

It is not uncommon for unexploded bombs from 20th century conflicts to be uncovered in Austria, though accidents like this appear to be rare.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.