A digging machine stops outside of a house where a WWII bomb left by the Japanese army has killed two and injured another five. (Photo/dahe.cn)
(ECNS) -- A WWII bomb left in China by the Japanese army has killed two and injured another five after it accidentally exploded while unknowing farmers were digging a water cellar, dahe.cn reports.
The bomb exploded at noon on Wednesday in Huixian county, Xinxiang city, Henan province in central China. An excavating machine was at work and seven or eight people who were nearby were immediately knocked down as the blast occurred.
The source of the explosion was a lyddite bomb left by the Japanese invaders during WWII, according to Wang Baixing, an expert in explosive ordnance disposal. The device is often referred to as a "yellow bomb", an upgrade from a "black bomb".
According to Wang, bombs that are buried deep do not often explode at the scene. However, the strong force applied by the excavating machine could have triggered the blast in this case.
During WWII, the county had troops stationed there and also hosted an army hospital, according to a local official surnamed Liu. Correspondingly, the Japanese forces used to bomb the county with artillery and planes.
Wang notes that the Japanese bomb still managed to explode after more than 70 years of being buried. Even if it had been left for another three or even five decades, the bomb would still have been operational.
Hundreds of bombs surface every year in Henan alone, warns Wang. People are advised to leave them alone once spotted and report them to police immediately.
In a separate incident, hundreds of grenades, rumored to have been left by the Japanese as well, were excavated in Xinxiang from a construction site on Thursday.
