A US missile left from the war has exploded in Vietnam's northern Bac Giang Province, instantly killing four local men, local newspaper Youth reported Wednesday.

The tragedy happened Monday when four men aged 21-30 were sawing the missile to get explosive and metal in the province's Luc Ngan District. All the victims were buried in the same tomb.

The missile was found in a forest by woodsman Vi Van Ten. He invited three others to take advantages of the weapon.

During the Vietnam War, the United States troops used 15.35 million tons of bombs and mines. There are still more than 300,000tons of unexploded ordnance in Vietnam.

Local scrap collectors often saw unexploded ordnance for metal and explosive, while children break them for fun, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries annually.

(Xinhua News Agency December 25, 2003)