Afghan man designs ball made of bamboo, iron, plastic to detonate landmines

London: Indian security forces fighting Maoists, experts in laying landmines in India, can take a leaf out of Masoud Hassani's book. Hassani, at the age of 14 years, fled war-torn Afghanistan to settle in Holland to work with Design Academy, Eindhoven. Hassani fled with smugglers to Pakistan and then Russia, before landing up in Holland. Hassani has designed this giant ball that has the potential to save thousands of lives. Like a giant clump of dandelion seeds, it is designed to be blown around in the wind detonating landmines in its path, Daily Mail reported. Made simply of bamboo, iron and plastic, each one is relatively cheap to produce and can clear up to four bombs before being destroyed themselves. Each device, called Mine Kafon, will have a GPS tracking device linked to a website to show which areas have been cleared. Hassani said he had the idea for his invention after making miniature models during his childhood. He and his brother would make their own toys, small wind-powered cylinders which would often get blown into a minefield, where they could not get them back. He said: 'Me and my brother Mahmud, we played every day on the fields surrounded with the highest mountains in our neighborhood. 'There was always a strong wind waving towards the mountains. While we were racing against each other, our small miniatures rolled way to fast and too far. 'Mostly they landed in areas where we were not allowed to step a foot on. 'Those areas were very dangerous because of the landmines. It was full of them. I still remember those friends that we have lost and saw them getting injured.' He said: 'I thought "I am going to make these objects 20 times bigger and heavier". 'There are 30million landmines in Afghanistan and 26million people, so that's more mines than people.' Hassani has teamed up with the Dutch Explosive Disposal Ordnance Unit to test it in the Moroccan desert, but in its present form they say it is not suitable for military purposes. Undeterred, Hassani is now looking for a solution. 'I hope they can help me build these things,' he said.Helping others: Mr Hassani came up with his invention while studying at the Design Academy Eindhoven in Holland, where he fled to from his war-torn countryDeveloping his idea: Mr Hassani teamed up with the Dutch Explosive Disposal Ordnance Unit to test his minehunter in the Moroccan desert