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Nara boy gets impaled by harpoon, dies

The Higashiyoshino area of the Takami River
The Higashiyoshino area of the Takami River (panoramio.com)

NARA (TR) – A boy was killed on Saturday after he was accidentally impaled by a handmade harpoon thrown by his younger brother while they were playing in a river with friends.

Nara police arrested a boy in second-grade middle school on suspicion of causing bodily harm for allegedly throwing a handmade harpoon that inadvertently impaled his older brother in third-grade middle school in the head while playing with their friends in Takami River in Kotsu, Higashiyoshino, at around 3:45 p.m., the Mainichi Shimbun reports (July 2).

The older brother was rushed to a hospital, but succumbed to his head injuries and died five hours later.

Police are questioning the younger brother after changing the charges to causing bodily harm resulting in death. An ongoing investigation is looking into the positioning of the brothers and friends at the time of the incident.

The younger brother told police he threw the harpoon because he “meant to give it to a friend, but it ended up hitting [the older brother] instead.”

The Sankei Shimbun reported that a friend yelled out they wanted to borrow the harpoon, which ended up impaling the older brother who was squatting nearby.

Police believe the brothers were with their mother and two friends to play and catch fish in the river.