Toy car child victim still critical

The life of Joaquin Galarraga, the 16-month-old boy injured by an exploding toy, hangs the balance

The life of Joaquin Galarraga, the 16-month-old boy injured by an exploding toy, hangs the balance. Doctors who operated on the baby for over eight hours on Monday describe his condition as critical. His grandmother died almost instantly when a piece of metal from the bomb severed her carotoid artery.

It is still unclear who left the battery-operated toy car, filled with between 10 to 15 grams of explosives, in the San Sebastian bar last Friday.

Police investigating the case say the small amount of explosives used suggest that the device was meant to maim but not kill and that the device became deadly when it detonated in the confined space of a small car.

Mr Josu Jon Imaz, spokesman for the Basque government, said yesterday that they were not discounting any theory, but added: "The method used does not at first glance point towards sectors who have perpetrated violence and terrorism in the Basque Country. But our priority is to find the cause of the blast and those who are responsible."

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Another possibility is that the toy car bomb was a hoax that went dreadfully wrong. San Sebastian celebrated its annual fiestas last week and, as in most Spanish fiestas, firecrackers play an important part in the partying. Someone could have intended to use the toy car as a joke to make a loud noise, but realised at the last minute that the device was too powerful and so left it in the bar.

On the other hand the Madrid government believes the tragedy was another example of "kale barroka" (street violence) carried out by pro-ETA youths in towns and villages across the region.

"This would seem to be a classic case of kale barroka, particularly since there was a pro-ETA demonstration taking place nearby at the time the toy car was left in the bar," said Mr Mariano Rajoy, the Interior Minister.