E. CRO RESIDENT CHARGED AFTER HAND GRENADE IN HIS YARD KILLS CHILD

OSIJEK, June 12 (Hina) - The crime police in Beli Manastir, eastern Croatia, on Saturday pressed charges against M.F. from Branjina after one child was killed and four were injured while playing with illegal weapons and explosives found in the yard of the house of the accused. Five children found a hand grenade in the yard of the M.F. residence on Friday which was activated most probably while the children were playing. Eleven-year-old Rade Rakas was killed, while the four other children suffered light injuries. The head of the county Office for education and Culture, Ksenija Zbozil, on Saturday spoke to Hina and conveyed her condolences to the Rakas family. "I am deeply sorry about the serious tragedy in which one child was killed, and four were injured, and I reiterate my appeal to parents and school staff, especially in the Croatian Danube River Region, to speak to children as often as possible and warn them about the danger of remaining mines, as well as of all other explosive devices," Zbozil said. She reminded a programme of preventive defence from explosives was being implemented in primary and secondary schools, but stressed the most important thing was to warn parents to clear houses of dangerous weapons. (hina) ha