Vientiane residents were in for a serious scare in Sikhottabong district today after a local man wandered onto a busy street in Ban Xikeh carrying an unexploded artillery shell and started slamming it against the ground.
Footage and photos of the incident quickly blew up across local Facebook feeds and messaging groups. Passersby and passing motorists took one look at what he was holding and immediately hit the gas to get as far away as possible.
While old UXO leftovers from the war still turn up from time to time when people dig in their gardens or clear rural land, it is not every day someone decides to casually play with live ordnance in the middle of a populated neighborhood. One local shopkeeper admitted her heart was in her throat as she hurriedly pulled her metal security shutter halfway down, terrified the unstable explosive would go off and take the whole block with it.
The incident has left the village thoroughly rattled. Over iced coffees at street-side stalls, neighbors were joking nervously that if the man had slipped up, half the neighborhood would have been blown to kingdom come before dinner time. Authorities have since intervened, though locals are still waiting for official word on where the man was taken and how the bomb squad plans to dispose of the shell.
