Kannur (Kerala) | A 86-year-old man died in a bomb explosion near Thalassery in this north Kerala district on Tuesday.

The elderly man -- Velayudhan -- died when he picked up and tried to open the bomb which he found from an uninhabited property where he had gone to collect coconuts, police said.

Velayudhan was seriously injured in the explosion and rushed to the Thalassery Cooperative Hospital but his life could not be saved, police said.

A senior police officer of the district told reporters here that according to the preliminary investigations, it appeared to be a steel bomb.

"It may have been discarded here or may have been deliberately concealed here," he said, adding that the incident occurred around 12.45 pm.

The officer said the bomb squad was carefully inspecting the property from where the explosive was found.