An 155mm artillery shell exploded at a resident’s house in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau on August 15, killing three people, including a pregnant woman.

The victims were relatives of the owner of the house, Tran Khac Nguyen, 37. They were Nguyen’s wife who was seven-months pregnant, his expecting baby and his cousin Nguyen Van Quynh, 27.

According to initial investigations, Nguyen Van Quynh, one of Nguyen’s cousins, sawed the artillery shell he collected from a rubber farm nearby to get explosives.

Unfortunately, the shell went off, blowing him to pieces and killing Nguyen’s wife, who was seven-month pregnant.

The explosion also destroyed part of Nguyen’s house.

Local authorities, agencies and police are investigating the cause of the explosion.