28 Oct 2005

Three recovering in hospital after lethal WWII bomb blast in PNG's Bougainville

3:16 pm on 28 October 2005

Three men are recovering in hospital in Papua New Guinea after a Second World War bomb exploded, killing a man on the west coast of Bougainville island.

The bomb went off on Wednesday after villagers at Piva in the Torokina district had set a fire to clear bushland for food gardens.

The men were flown by helicopter to hospital in the provincial capital, Buka, where staff say they are recovering, with one going home this afternoon.

Large quantities of unexploded ordnance remain in the jungles of Bougainville.