(VNF) - An explosion, which many warheads have been found, killed at least two children and injured eight people early January 3^rd morning at a scrap warehouse in Quan Do village in the northern province of Bac Ninh’s Yen Phong district.

The scene of the explosion occurs on January 3 morning in the northern Bac Ninh province’s Quan Do village. (Photo: VNA)

The dead victims are a one-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl.

The explosion also led to the collapse of four nearby houses, burying many people who were asleep, and damaged dozens of other houses. Following the explosion, a huge hole - 4m in width and 20m in length, appeared at the scene.

Nguyen Van Tuan and his family, who live 30 meters from the scrap facility, were woken up at around 4:30 a.m. to deafening sounds of the explosion as the ground shook, houses collapsed and warheads rained down.

"I run away with my wife and children, stepping over warheads. Only around 1 kilometer away from the scene, there were no more warheads, Tuan said."

Another witness who lives some 1km from the scene of the explosion said “I heard the loudest-ever bang at about 4am this morning.”

Authorities estimate that the explosion could be felt as far as 5 kilometers from the scene.

Nearby houses are damaged due to the explosion. (Photo: VNA)

To Thi Mai Hoa, head of the provincial Department of Health, said a seriously-injured person was taken to Hanoi’s Vietnam-Germany Hospital while the others were being treated at Bac Ninh General Hospital.

The department had dispatched a team and an ambulance to the scene to provide first aid to the victims, she said.

The explosion was caused by explosives of unknown origin stored at the facility, said the provincial chair Nguyen Tu Quynh based on preliminary investigation.

Police and soldiers are at the scene rescuing people still stuck under the rubble as well as clearing the site.

Bullets, debris and broken glass are scattered all over the place. (Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy)

Deadly Legacy of Wars

Decades after the Vietnam War ended, unexploded ordnance still threatens a fifth of the country’s land mass and explosions occur frequently, killing more than 1,500 people every year and maiming and injuring 2,200 more, according to official data.

According to the United Nations, 104,000 Vietnamese people have been killed by bombs, land mines and artillery shells since the end of the war in 1975. Decades after the Vietnam War ended, unexploded ordnance still threatens a fifth of the country’s land mass and explosions occur frequently, killing more than 1,500 people every year and maiming and injuring 2,200 more, according to official data.

Many people from poor rural areas are killed by inadvertently triggering the devices, while others die trying to cut them open to resell the explosives and scrap metal.

In August, six members of a family in the central province of Khanh Hoa died in one such blast./.

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