VILNIUS, Lithuania – Lithuanian police say two men have been killed when a shell exploded as they were dismantling it to extract metal.
Police say the accident occurred at a scrapyard in the southern Lithuanian town of Kazlu Ruda. The men apparently discovered the unexploded shell at a nearby former Soviet military training ground, now controlled by Lithuanian armed forces.
Relatives of the victims, aged 40 and 45, told the Lietuvos rytas daily that the unemployed men collected metal in nearby woods for a living.
Reports said the impact of the explosion shattered windows of neighbouring buildings and could be heard 10 kilometers (six miles) away.
Skirmantas Andriusis, head of police in Marijampole town, said Sunday that officers could not immediately identify the explosive device but were investigating the incident.