Three people were killed in an explosion in an apartment block in the Georgian Republic Wednesday, apparently while trying to cut up tank and artillery shells in order to sell the pieces as scrap metal. Two other people were injured in the blast near the Vasiani military base just outside the capital of Tbilisi. "They were cutting the shells to sell the metal," said the official. "But the heat from the cutting caused one to explode." A local news agency said two women and one man were killed by the blast, but the Security Ministry did not confirm this. Georgian television showed pictures of the burned-out apartment with more than a dozen shells still lined up against the wall. The Security Ministry official said the practice of cutting up explosives for their metal was not uncommon in Georgia.
Shell Shocked
Three people were killed in an explosion in an apartment block in the Georgian Republic Wednesday, apparently while trying to cut up tank and artillery shells in order to sell the pieces as scrap metal. Two other people were injured in the blast near the Vasiani military base just outside the capital of Tbilisi. "They were cutting the shells to sell the metal," said the official. "But the heat from the cutting caused one to explode." A local news agency said two women and one man were killed by the blast, but the Security Ministry did not confirm this. Georgian television showed pictures of the burned-out apartment with more than a dozen shells still lined up against the wall. The Security Ministry official said the practice of cutting up explosives for their metal was not uncommon in Georgia.
