Hanoi - Six children have been killed and one man seriously injured when a mortar shell believed to be left over from the Vietnam War exploded in southern Vietnam, a policeman said Friday. The children, ages between five and 18, were trying to salvage scrap metal from the shell with a hammer when it exploded Thursday.
"We arrived at the house immediately after hearing the explosion and saw the terrible scene, with bloody bodies of the children strewn everywhere," said Tran Nhu Y, a local policeman in Binh Phuoc province, 120 kilometers north of Ho Chi Minh City.
Pham Anh Tuan, 42, had brought the 105-millimeter mortar shell, which his brother found, to his home to salvage the explosives inside for sale, according to the policeman.
Tuan had removed a detonator and the explosive, then left the shell to the children to salvage the metal, thinking the shell was now harmless, according to policeman Nhu Y.
However, the mortar had a second chamber of explosives and another detonator, which was triggered by the children.
Tuan alone survived the blast and was rushed to Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, where he was in critical condition.
The shell was believed left over from a US military base in the province, police said.
"The American bomb designers are very evil to have designed these bombs with more than one detonator," Nhu Y said.
Dozens of Vietnamese are killed every year by bombs, mines, or grenades, most of which are leftovers from the war.
