A rocket launcher's shell exploded in a house in a village in Pakistan's southern Sindh province on Wednesday, killing at least eight people while injuring three others, police officials said.

Five children and two women are among the people killed in the incident that happened in Kandhkot city of the province, Kandhkot Senior Superintendent of Police Rohail Khoso told media.

He said the unexploded shell of the rocket launcher was found by the children in the nearby fields which they brought home, adding that all the deceased and injured belonged to the same family.

Following the incident, police and rescue teams reached the spot and transferred the injured to a nearby hospital, where at least one person is in critical condition, according to hospital sources.

A full-fledged inquiry has been launched into the matter to investigate the presence of shells in the agricultural land of the city and apprehend the culprits behind it.

Police have recently launched an operation against robbers and criminals in Kandhkot city believed to be armed with sophisticated weapons including rocket launchers and hand grenades, according to police officials.

(With UNI inputs)