An elderly woman and her young grandson were killed on Monday morning when the civil war-era bomb she was pounding exploded. The incident occurred in Svay Rieng province’s Svay Tiep district.

Koeut Sophal, chief of the district’s judicial police bureau, told The Post on Monday that an explosion in Sambuor commune had left a 65-year-old woman, Phorng Sophy, and her 10-year-old grandson, Khuon Panha, dead.

The woman had earlier been out looking for discarded items to sell to buy cakes for her grandson. She had found the unexploded ordnance buried underground and took the metal home to sell, Sophal quoted villagers as saying.

Sophal said the bomb exploded as she hit it. The incident occurred at 9am, with only the two victims at home at the time.

“The bomb was buried underground. She unearthed it and took the metal home to beat into shape and sell as scrap. The bomb exploded as she hit it, killing her and her grandson. The bomb was a remnant of the civil war,” Sophal said.

Authorities arrived at the scene and examined the bodies. The woman was hit with shrapnel on the thigh and chest, while the boy suffered a broken skull.