Wartime Bombs Safely Disposed of in Central Vietnam
The Military Command in Vietnam’s central province of Quang Tri, in collaboration with the Golden West Organization of the U.S., on Tuesday defused two war-time bombs in Huong Hoa mountainous district.
After receiving information from local residents, the command’s combat engineer unit approached the site and isolated the area. They found that one of the bombs is a 340 kg M177 and the other is a Mark 82 (MK82) weighing 230 kg.
In a process controlled from afar, combat engineers separated the detonator from the part that contains the explosive of the MK82 bomb. After being removed from the bomb, the detonator was destroyed at the site.
The M117 bomb were moved to a safe place for later treatment.
Quang Tri is the most polluted locality in Vietnam in terms of UXOs. Land mines and bombs have killed over 3,430 people and injured 5,100 others since the war ended in 1975.
So far, 34 non-governmental and 23 international organizations have joined bomb and mine clearance efforts in the province, which targets becoming the first locality nationwide to be free from wartime bombs, mines and other UXOs by 2025.