Residents of Yen Bai Province in northern Vietnam discovered an unexploded wartime bomb weighing 340 kilograms in a stream following a torrential rain on Saturday.

A local official from the People’s Committee of Yen Thai Commune under Van Yen District, where the bomb was found, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper the same day that it measures 0.42 meters in diameter and 1.2 meters in length.

Locals in Tan Thanh Village detected the bomb at 7:15 am after the explosive device was swept to the bank of the stream by floods and rainwater.

The bomb was left in the aftermath of the war during the 1968-70 period, according to the Van Yen District military steering committee.

The bomb has rusted.

Chairman of the Van Yen District administration Ha Duc Anh tasked officials from Yen Thai Commune with working with the district’s military forces and police to cordon off the scene and warn residents against the dangerous site.

They were also told to map out a detailed plan to defuse the bomb.

A landslide triggered by downpours on Friday night and Saturday morning killed two people in Van Yen District, according to a quick report made by the provincial steering committee for natural disaster prevention, search, and rescue.

Besides, floods swept away two houses and inundated hundreds of residences and routes, while landslides destroyed dozens of homes.

Six households had to evacuate to safe shelters due to a high risk of land collapse.

A section of the Hanoi - Lao Cai railway in Yen Thai Commune faced a landslide, causing a suspension of all trains plying the route on Saturday morning.

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