A small ship collecting iron scrap yesterday pulled up two rusty but live bombs in the Yangtze River, possibly dating from the Opium Wars, the Anti-Japanese Invasion War or the War of Chinese Liberation.

The fire control bureau was to destroy the shells in a couple of days.

The Yangtze River Shipping police collected the bombs, which had been discovered with magnetic tools, and sent them to the fire control bureau.

The vessel that found the bombs told the river police. The bombs were discovered on the bed of the waterway between the Xinshidong floodgate and the Yangtze River. After two hours the police located the ship.

Ship owner Li Lishun said he discovered the first shell about noon when the crew used a powerful magnet to pull up iron scraps, as the vessel waited for the floodgates to open for traffic.

The rusty shell was 41 centimeters long and 10 centimeters in diameter. The second shell was somewhat smaller.

Police warned local fishermen to be more careful and never handle old shells that they dredged up or sell them as scrap.