Blast kills Indian slum children

Two children were killed and four others injured today in an explosion in a crowded slum in northern India.

The blast appeared to have been caused by a homemade bomb that exploded in the Kareli area on the outskirts of Allahabad city, in Uttar Pradesh state, according police officials.

All six of the victims were poor ragpickers, who sort through heaps of rubbish for scraps of plastic, glass, metal and other objects they can sell to recyclers for cash.

No other details were immediately available, but police spokesman BP Singh said officers were investigating.