ANKARA (AFP) – Five police officers were injured while bomb disposal experts were carrying out a controlled explosion on a suspected parcel bomb in a seaside resort town in western Turkey, a local official said.

Earlier reports said that one policeman had been killed and two injured when the package, left near a statue in the town of Kusadasi in Aydin province on the Aegean coast, exploded Saturday as police were throwing a security cordon.

But Aydin governor Mustafa Malay denied there were any fatalities among police or civilians and said the explosion had injured five officers, one seriously.

“A chief superintendent unfortunately lost his arm and received abdominal injuries. He is in a serious condition,” Malay told the NTV news channel.

He said the blast occurred as police carried out a controlled explosion on the package after receiving a tip-off that it contained a bomb.

He said there was as yet no information on who had left the package.

In the wake of the blast police immediately set up checkpoints at all entrances to the town.