Monday, August 8, 2011

Vietnam War-era shell explodes, killing 2

Aug 8, 2011
AP

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — A Vietnam War-era artillery shell has exploded in central Vietnam, killing two people who were cutting it up for scrap metal.

Police officer Nguyen Thanh Phong says the men died at the scene following Sunday's incident in central Danang city.

Phong said on Monday that the men aged 44 and 52 had scavenged the 175-millimeter shell and tried to cut it up at an industrial park that was a former American base during the Vietnam War.

Their deaths bring the number of people killed by deadly war leftovers to five in the past 10 days.

Vietnamese government figures show unexploded ordnance have killed more than 42,000 people since the war ended in 1975.

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