Local whiz kid injured in blast from invention | Inquirer News

Local whiz kid injured in blast from invention

/ 12:34 AM April 29, 2012

ZAMBOANGA CITY—A boy, who is regarded as a whiz kid by locals here, lost a hand in a blast while experimenting with an electronic device, which also injured four other children  in Barangay Lunzuran on Thursday evening, police said Saturday.

Kyrille Pilangga, an incoming Grade 5 pupil, was showing his latest “invention”—made of joined old electronic circuit boards—to playmates when the home-concocted gadget exploded around 6:55 p.m.

His playmates, Miko Enriquez, James Joseph Reyes, Jericho Bahana and Rommel Austero—whose ages range from 8 to 12—also suffered injuries in the blast.

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Senior Insp. Haywien Salvado, commander of the Divisoria Police District, said based on investigation, Pilangga hooked up his experiment to old dry cell batteries in a bid to demonstrate to his playmates how it works. It was not exactly known what the gadget’s function was.

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“He was experimenting on an electronic device, it being one of his hobbies, but it went off. Four other children suffered burns,” Salvado said.

He said it was apparent that a short circuit occurred, which caused the batteries to explode.

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Joel Jose, chair of Lunzuran, said it turned out that the boy had created an explosive device.

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Jose, an uncle of Pilangga’s, said the boy knew many things, including electronics, but the explosion was baffling.

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“He is very intelligent for his age. He knows a lot of things beyond what his playmates can understand,” Jose said.

Pilangga, speaking from his hospital bed, said he was not worried about losing his right hand.

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He hinted that it was part of the risks of experimentation.

“I already accepted my fate,” the boy said.

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TAGS: Explosion, invention, News

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