Two die in Solomon Islands bomb blast

Two people died following a bomb blast that rocked a residential area of Honiara in the Solomon Islands. Photo / via Facebook

An Australian man and his British colleague have been killed in a horror bomb blast on the Solomon Islands.

The pair was working for a Norwegian aid agency conducting surveys of unexploded World War II bombs, police said, when the blast occurred in a residential part of Honiara.

The Solomon Islands are a former World War II battleground and the Norwegian Peoples Aid (NPA) is an NGO that aims to locate unexploded bombs.

An Australian man and his British colleague died in the blast. Photo / via Facebook

Authorities are now working to clear the site of the explosion while investigators try to determine why explosives were present at a block of residential flats.

"Explosives ordnance disposal officers will have to render the scene safe before forensics and other investigators access the scene to find out what happened," Royal Solomon Islands Police Force Inspector Clifford Tunuki said.

It is understood the two men were rushed to hospital where they later died. They are yet to be formally identified.

"On behalf of the RSIPF I wish to convey my sincere condolences to family and relatives of those two foreign nationals who died in this tragic incident," Inspector Tunuki said.

A spokesman for NPA said the organisation was "deeply sorry" for the "tragic accident" involving two of their staff.

"We are devastated by what has happened, and for the loss of two good colleagues. Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to their families, relatives and staff," NPA's secretary-general Henriette Killi Westhrin.

"The safety and security of our staff is our highest priority, said Nergaard, emphasising that the investigation needs to be completed before there can be a conclusion on the cause of events."