Belated reports say at least five persons died in a bomb blast in Mangalsen, the district headquarters of Achham on Monday night.

The powerful blast occurred at around at around 9:15 p.m. at Nagtoli village in Mangalsen, killing five persons including Dharma Raj Rai, an assistant heath worker working at a local sub-health post, on the spot, news reports said.

A night curfew was still on when the blast took place. Four others killed in the incident were all local residents.

It was not immediately clear how the blast occurred but security sources in the district headquarters claimed that a bomb carried by the Maoists went off accidentally.

Details of the incidents are still awaited.