WWI shell explodes in Belgium killing two, including Turkish worker

BRUSSELS - Agence France-Presse

Emergency personnel remove evidence near a covered body after a World War One armament exploded in Ypres, Belgium, March 19. AP photo

Two workers, including a man of Turkish origin, were killed March 19 by the explosion of a World War I shell near the Belgian town of Ypres, site of some of the bloodiest battles in the conflict, officials said.

Two other men were hurt, one in critical condition, after they disturbed the shell as they worked near the Ypres canal, reports said, citing local officials.

The other worker killed was from Bulgarian, authorities said.

The Turkish construction worker, whose name was not disclosed, died at the scene ,while the Bulgarian worker succombed to his wounds as he was rushed to hospital.

The Western Front trenches ran just outside Ypres, a small medieval town completely destroyed in the war that was fought from 1914 to 1918.

Hundreds of thousands of Allied soliders died in the vicinity and weapons, shells and human remains are regularly found by farmers as they plough their fields or by workers digging down into the ground.