Grandfather, 2 Grandchildren Killed by Old Artillery Shell

[CEOCambodiaNews]

Grandfather, 2 Grandchildren Killed by Old Artillery Shell

by Khy Sovuthy | May 25, 2016

A grandfather and two of his grandchildren were killed by a decades-old artillery shell on Tuesday in Prey Veng province when it exploded as the old man was using it as a makeshift workbench.

Tep Phal, 73, had the 105mm shell sticking out of the ground head first at his home in Preah Sdech district and was using the flat bottom as a surface to beat a small piece of metal into shape with an ax, according to Sreng Chea, the provincial police chief. Mr. Chea said the old man was preparing the metal piece to cap a wood stake he wanted to use to tether his cows.

“According to relatives and villagers, he had it since the 1980s and always used it as a surface to hit things, but it never exploded,” he said.

When the shell finally did explode on Tuesday at about 11:30 a.m., it instantly killed Tep Phal and the two children—Phal Nary, 12, and her brother Phal Dara, 9.

“I think maybe he did not think it could explode,” Mr. Chea said. “It’s very shocking because the family lost three members at once.”

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[hanno]

and thought the old man, a former teacher, would have known better.

[willyhilly]

Wow, a 105mm shell. That would have been a hell of a bang. The ignorance is really astounding, poor kids.

[shnoukieBRO]

“According to relatives and villagers, he had it since the 1980s and always used it as a surface to hit things, but it never exploded,”

Talk about living dangerously!