Unearthed Vietnam-Era Bombs Destroyed

A military bomb squad Sunday destroyed eight unexploded Vietnam War-era bombs that railroad workers found while replacing tracks in an area where a similar bomb was discovered two weeks ago.

The bombs were found Saturday as the workers replaced tracks in a spot where a single bomb was uncovered Oct. 6. The site is near an area where a trainload of bombs exploded 24 years ago.

About 500 people living nearby were evacuated late Saturday before the bomb squad dug holes and blew up the bombs. There were no injuries, and people were later permitted to return to their homes, where minor damage--including broken windows and wall cracks--was reported to dozens of houses.

It is “very, very possible” that the site, where a train filled with ammunition exploded in 1973, is harboring additional unexploded bombs, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jim Cooper said.

Union Pacific officials have suspended renovation work at the yard until at least today, when railroad and sheriff’s officials were to begin determining whether any other bombs are hidden. Experts from the Army Corps of Engineers were expected to inspect the yard.

Six bombs were described as being in good condition, with the other two badly damaged by workers in their earthmoving equipment.

On April 28, 1973, a trainload of ammunition bound for the Vietnam War exploded in a daylong series of blasts. No one was killed, but the spectacular detonations sent residents fleeing and filled the sky with enormous plumes of smoke.