A baby and a five-year-old girl
were killed in an explosion east of Vietnam's capital Hanoi
today that destroyed several houses and wounded at least six
other people.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the blast in
Bac Ninh province's Yen Phong district, which occurred at 4:30
am demolishing buildings and sending debris flying through the
air.
The explosion completely razed five homes and shattered
the windows of surrounding buildings, according to an AFP
reporter at the scene.
A one-year-old boy and a girl were killed, according to a
report from the provincial health department seen by AFP,
while six others were taken to hospital with injuries.
"The blast seemed to be in an area where there are many
families involved in collecting scrap," a local official told
AFP, requesting anonymity.
Salvage of metal from the tonnes of Vietnam War-era bombs
that still blanket the country often ends in tragedy.
In August six people were killed, including three
children, when a war-era bomb exploded in Kanh Hoa province.
Reports at the time suggested it detonated as scrap workers
cut it open.
Since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, more than
42,000 people have been killed and over 62,100 injured by
unexploded ordnance dropped by US aircraft, according
government figures.
