Suspected WW II mortar shell explodes

September 9, 2020 93 Views No Comment

Claims two lives, three wounded

Morung Express News
Dimapur | September 8

One of the four injured in the blast in Dimapur on September 8 succumbed to injury in hospital taking the toll to two.

Earlier in the afternoon, an explosion rocked a neighbourhood in United North Block-B, Burma Camp fatally maiming one person and injuring four others. Among the injured were a woman, an infant girl and two male individuals.

The person, who succumbed at the site of the explosion, was a scrap metal collector identified by the police as Sadiqul Islam (30 years). He was reportedly trying to extract metal from a World War II mortar shell.

According to the police, he was pounding it with a hammer when it went off. He was fatally wounded, to succumb minutes later as onlookers gathered at the site. Shrapnel from the shell also pierced through the CGI roof.

The four others, who were also wounded, were in the adjacent hutment where the explosion occurred. The infant succumbed to her wounds later in the evening. The three survivors were identified as Haibur Hussain, Majida Begum and Baharul Islam.

The police later said that the Bomb Disposal squad found remnants of what appeared to be World War II mortar shell. It was unclear how the suspected WW II explosive found its way to a scrap collector.

Source: https://morungexpress.com/suspected-ww-ii-mortar-shell-explodes