1st LD writethru: One killed, one injured in explosion in Sweden

STOCKHOLM, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- A man was killed and a woman injured when an object exploded Sunday outside a subway station in southern Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, Swedish Television reported on Sunday.

The blast, at the Varby Gard station in the municipality of Huddinge, which is about 11 kilometers south of Stockholm, took place when someone picked up an object, which then exploded, the report said.

The man in his 60s, who was severely injured in the explosion, died later in hospital, Swedish Television reported.

Police told news agency TT that the killed man and the injured woman were a couple.

The report quoted police sources as saying that there was "no indication that the explosion was directed against the people". The man and the woman simply "were at the wrong place and at the wrong time".

Police also said the woman in her 40s, also taken to the hospital, had wounds on her face and both legs.

"Someone has used some kind of explosive. That's all we know," a local fire service chief told Swedish Television, which also reported that police and medics were at the scene.

On Sunday morning, police searched the area around the station, which was cordoned off as a bomb squad was called in to carry out an investigation.

Sven-Erik Olsson of the Stockholm police told reporters that he could not say what kind of explosive material was used or how powerful the explosion was, only that it was "powerful enough for the couple to be taken to hospital".

The Varby Gard station was cleared on Sunday and the Stockholm subway was partially shut, with replacement buses serving part of the route on the affected line.

So far, police did not say whether the explosion was a terror-related incident. Enditem