A couple has been killed and their two children injured after a Vietnam War-era shell exploded earlier this week.

The accident occurred in a rural village in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum.

Local media reports that the 46-year-old father was immediately killed after trying to open the U.S. shell left over from the Vietnam war.

His wife died on the way to hospital, while his children, aged 9 and 15, are receiving treatment for their injuries.

Old bombs are prized for both the scrap metal and their explosives, which are repurposed for clearing land for farming and illegal “dynamite” fishing.

According to the United Nations, 104,000 Vietnamese have been killed by bombs, land mines and artillery shells since the end of Vietnam War in 1975.