LAHORE: Up to 40 youngsters, most of them teenagers, suffered burns when a huge bunch of helium-filled balloons landed in a makeshift playground and caught fire near Dev Kalan village, Kamahan Road, on Sunday.

The balloons, apparently released in connection with some ceremony, landed in the ground at a time when a good number of children were playing cricket there on their weekly holiday, witnesses and police said.

According to a police official, as many as 20 children aged between 13 and 18 years were shifted to the Lahore General Hospital with multiple burns caused by the explosion. They were later shifted to the Jinnah Hospital.

As Rescue 1122 and other ambulance services failed to reach the spot in time, the injured were transported to hospital by their families and locals.

Ruling out any terrorist or sabotage activity, Nishtar Colony police said it was apparently an accident, but the cause of explosion in the bunch of balloons was still being investigated.

The chief minister has formed a committee led by the Lahore district coordination officer to probe into the incident.

The mysterious incident sparked rumour mongering and speculations with some terming it a ‘conspiracy by saboteurs’ to target children. Some others claimed a man touched balloons with a burning cigarette which led to an explosion, turning the balloons into a fireball.

Some locals said the balloons were released at a ceremony held at Walton Road to inaugurate new flyover.

A police investigator told Dawn that the explosion occurred when the children tried to catch the balloons.

He said 14 children were discharged from the hospital after necessary treatment, while six others with moderate-to-critical burns were still admitted there.

He said forensic experts had gathered the pieces of burnt balloons and clothes, besides samples of soil and grass from the spot as evidence and also recorded statements of the injured children.

Naveed Asghar, 14, of Dev Kalan village was later referred to the Mayo Hospital with critical burns.

He said police were treating the incident as an accident and no legal action was under consideration for the time being.

“I was playing cricket with my fellows when a cluster of balloons with a banner attached to it came down and some children rushed to catch it. As they pulled a thread attached to the cluster, an explosion took place and balloons caught fire. It seemed that a stuffed toy had also been attached with the balloons,” said 16-year-old Muhammad Tanveer of Dev Kalan who suffered burns in the incident.

Another 13-year old identified as Rizwan Ghafoor was seen crying on a hospital bed with severe burns. His father Abdul Ghafoor said his son, a Class-VIII student, suffered burns to his belly, legs and arms and his hair were also slightly burnt.

Muhammad Tahir, with minor burns, said the balloons caught fire when they hit the ground following a big explosion like a cylinder blast.