VietNamNet Bridge - A 34-year old man, who was a scrap dealer, died immediately when a mortar bullet he was sawing exploded.

Bombs and bullets left from the war.

A 19-year-old boy who was helping the man was seriously injured by shrapnel which apparently came from the explosion.

Police said that at around 5.30pm on Tuesday, people in Le Son 2 village in Hoa Tien commune, Hoa Vang district, Da Nang city heard a loud explosion at the house of Ngo Hoang. Upon arriving, they found Hoang dead and teenager Le Thanh seriously injured.

At the scene, the shrapnel, which supposedly came from an 81mm mortar bullet, was found scattered throughout the kitchen. The victim's body had shrapnel lodged in his chest and neck.

Dang Van Vinh, Hoa Tien commune police chief, said that the man was a scrap trader and he had kept bombs, mines and mortar bullets left from the war.

According to a witness, Hoang was sawing the mortar bullet when Thanh passed by.

Hoang asked Thanh to help him hold the mortar bullet. When Thanh was about five meters from Hoang, the mortar bullet exploded.

Vinh said that the local authorities had warned scrap traders many times to not keep or saw bombs or mines left from the war.

The incident, however, is not rare in Vietnam. Many people in the countryside have died or have been injured when disassembling bombs, mines and mortar bullets.

Ly Lan