WWII shell blast kills 2 in Moscow

At least two people were killed after a World War II artillery shell exploded in northern Moscow Monday, local emergency authorities said Tuesday.

The shell which remained buried underground since World War II exploded at a site belonging to the military prosecutor's office, the Emergency Situations Ministry's local branch said.

Workers who found the shell at the construction site called police. The shell exploded when one worker attempted to remove it from a dig, investigators said.

Initial reports suggested that the explosion was triggered by a leaking gas tank.

Four people - three workers and a 59-year-old woman - were rushed to a hospital following the blast.

Two workers died from fatal injuries Tuesday and the woman with non-lethal wounds was released from hospital. A 30-year-old worker was seriously injured, police said.

Two cars near the site and nine apartments were also damaged by the blast.

On Thursday, another shell, dug up in Moscow by workers, was destroyed by the military's bomb disposal experts.

In June, workers discovered over 80 pieces of ammunition buried underground in southern Moscow. The shells made in the 1940s were destroyed at a special range in the Moscow region.