by Neville Spykerman

KUALA SELANGOR, MALAYSIA - Two foreign workers were killed when a stray World War 2 bomb exploded at a scrapyard in Kampung Baru Kuala Selangor yesterday.

The massive blast was heard as far as 2km away. The resulting shockwave caused windows at some nearby homes to shatter.

The blast destroyed the building, which housed the ground-floor store where the scrap metal was sorted, and a hostel on the first floor.

The victims, an Indian national and a Bangladeshi, both in their 30s, were rushed to the Sungai Buloh Hospital, but the Indian national died enroute. The Bangladeshi died several hours later.

It is believed the duo had been sorting through a consignment of scrap from Jeram, not realising that a live bomb was mixed with the scrap metal. The scrap had been brought in by a seller earlier that morning, but the bomb only exploded about 3.30pm.
Resident K. Devan, from Taman Mawar Putih, was among several villagers who rushed to the scene after hearing the blast.

The 28-year-old labourer said the bodies of the two victims were charred when they were pulled out by rescuers.

"They were both still alive, but the Bangladeshi worker had lost some of the fingers on one hand."

Kuala Selangor district councillor S. Lakshmanan said residents who heard the blast initially thought it was the sound of a lorry tyre bursting.

A police bomb disposal squad and forensic team sifted through the scrapyard yesterday.

Kuala Selangor police chief Superintendent Ibrahim Chin yesterday advised the public looking for scrap to contact the police if they spotted objects which could be World War II explosives.