Vietnam War-era shell explodes, killing 3 farmers

From the Sacramento Bee: Vietnam War-era shell explodes, killing 3 farmers
HANOI, Vietnam -- A Vietnam War-era artillery shell has exploded, killing three farmers who were cutting it up for scrap metal in central Vietnam.

Police say two of the men died at the scene and another died on the way to a hospital following the incident Saturday.

Tieu Viet Thanh, police chief in Binh Chau village in Quang Ngai province, said Monday that the men, who were aged 52 to 55, had collected the 105-millimeter shell near a beach in the village. The village, a former stronghold of North Vietnamese communist forces, suffered bombardment and artillery fire from American and South Vietnamese forces during the war.

Vietnamese government figures show unexploded ordnance has killed more than 42,000 people and wounded some 62,000 since the war ended in 1975.