360 Vietnam War Grenades, Massive Bomb Found in Central Highlands

Military personnel in the Central Highlands have found nearly 300 kilograms of unexploded grenades left behind from the Vietnam War in the last few days besides a deadly 200-kilogram bomb. Officers working in Kon Tum Province found the giant bomb on Dec 25 four meters under the ground using detection equipment. They have moved it to a safe place for detonation. They described the bomb as “extremely dangerous,” one that can cause destruction and injury within a 500-meter radius. Another bomb of around 300 kg was found at the site in 2011 when a local dug a well. A day earlier, in neighboring Lam Dong Province, army personnel defused more than 360 grenades locals had found in a river. The latter had been fishing at the foot of a bridge on December 20 when they found the grenades. A senior military officer said many of the grenades had rusted and posed little threat of exploding. Unexploded ordnance has been left behind on a fifth of Vietnam’s land area, and officials say explosions occur every day. Deputy Minister of Defence Nguyen Chi Vinh had said last October that the explosions kill more than 1,500 people every year and injure 2,200 others. (http://www.thanhniennews.com/ Dec 25)