While a man was attempting to remove the gunpowder from an old 105 mm warhead so that he could sell the shell, the warhead exploded, killing him and a woman and injuring four other people in Binh Thuan Province yesterday.
At 9 am Monday a man, who was not identified, took the warhead to a bush on the roadside of National Highway 1, in Ham Thang Commune, Ham Thuan Bac District, and used a hammer to break it open to remove the gunpowder inside.

As the man, who was about 45 years old, was working on the warhead, it suddenly exploded, killing him while tearing his body apart and scattering pieces 17 meters from the scene.

At the same time, splinters that burst out from the shell hit two local women who were riding nearby on a motorbike.

29-year-old Le Thi Thao Ly, the driver, died on the scene, while 31-year-old Truong Thi My Linh, who was Ly’s passengers, was severely injured and was taken to the Binh Thuan General Hospital for emergency treatment.

Ly was a resident of Ham Chinh Commune, Ham Thuan Bac District, while Linh was from Phan Thiet City’s Lac Dao Ward.

The explosion also shattered the windows of two cars travelling nearby, causing serious injuries to three people in the vehicles.

Yesterday afternoon, doctors at the hospital said they had removed several fragments of the shell from Linh’s body, and added that she was out of critical condition.

Police examined the scene and found a heavily damaged bicycle and a hammer 100 meters away from the site of the explosion.

The police could not identify the dead man, so they carried out procedures to bury his body yesterday afternoon.

The police are investigating the origin of the exploded warhead.

Tuoitre