[Ngo-lwg] Fwd: ​RENEW Deminer Dies From Injuries After Cluster Bomb Accident

Chuck Searcy chuckusvn at gmail.com
Thu May 19 19:20:36 ICT 2016


*Thursday, 19 May 2016*



This is the moment that I have feared for 15 years, since Project RENEW was
launched in 2001.



Yesterday Ngo Thien Khiet was killed by a cluster munition at a field site
in Quang Tri Province, near the former DMZ.  The 45-year-old​ deminer, a
senior technician with eight years' experience, was directing his team
members in an area where several cluster bombs had been found and marked
for destruction.



RENEW's explosive ordnance disposal specialists and clearance technicians
are highly trained, and professional.  Safety is their top priority.  Their
efforts have resulted in the destruction of more than 30,000 bombs and
other munitions over the years, without a single accident, injury, or death.



Until yesterday.



The RENEW staff, colleagues from Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) and other
NGOs, provincial officials and of course friends and family of Khiet are
grieving this loss of a dear friend and colleague, a patriot who sacrificed
his life in peacetime to dismantle the instruments of death left behind in
wartime.



CS

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Ngô Thiện Khiết
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*Mine Action ALERT
<http://landmines.org.vn/mine-action-alert-renew-deminer-dies-from-injuries-after-cluster-bomb-accident/>*

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*RENEW Deminer Dies From Injuries After Cluster Bomb Accident*


​*19 May 2016*

​
A cluster bomb explosion in Quang Tri Province has killed one deminer and
injured another, both technical staff managed by Project RENEW and
Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA).  The accident occurred on Wednesday, 18 May,
in Co Luy Village of Hai Ba Commune, Hai Lang District.

Team Leader Ngo Thien Khiet, age 45 and one of Project RENEW’s most
experienced and senior technicians, was fatally injured in the explosion
and later died at the provincial hospital’s emergency ward.  The other
operator, 43-year-old Nguyen Van Hao, suffered less serious injuries and
will survive the blast.  Hao has been transferred to Hue Central Hospital
for further treatment.

The explosion occurred around 9:00 a.m. Wednesday when the technical survey
team was searching for cluster munitions and other explosive weapons in a
rice paddy field where local farmers had just finished harvesting their
rice.

The two casualties were immediately stabilized by team medics and evacuated
to Hai Lang District Hospital, later transferred to Quang Tri Province’s
General Hospital.

“This is tragic for Khiet’s immediate family,” said Nguyen Thi Dieu Linh,
Operations Manager for the 160-member staff, “and it is a terrible loss for
all of us at Project RENEW and NPA, who are like one big family.  It’s a
very sad time for everyone.”

Linh said the accident will be investigated to try to determine exactly
what happened, to ensure that such an incident never happens again.

“Our sincere condolences go out to Khiet’s family and our colleagues at
Project RENEW,” said Jonathon Guthrie, NPA Project Manager. “NPA and RENEW
will do whatever we can to find out what caused this tragic accident.  We
are working with local authorities in the ongoing investigation.”

“Our thoughts are with Khiet’s family. This is a terrible loss for the
entire Project RENEW’s staff. It is the first time since Project RENEW was
established in 2001 that our staff  has experienced any accident — and this
one is a real tragedy,” said Nguyen Hieu Trung, Project RENEW Coordination
Manager.

Since the war ended in 1975, cluster munitions, or “bombies” as they are
called by local Vietnamese, have accounted for nearly 40% of total
casualties in Quang Tri Province, according to statistics from the Legacies
of War Coordination Center
<http://lwcc-dbu-quangtri.vn/en-us/FACTS-AND-FIGURES/By-Mine-Action-Component/Accidents-and-Victims>
.

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*Project RENEW*

*Restoring the Environment and Neutralizing the Effects of the War*
Project RENEW Coordination Office
Kids First Village, 185 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Dong Ha City, Quang Tri
Province, Vietnam
053 3858 445 tel / 053 3858 442 fax
projectrenewvietnam at gmail.com / www.landmines.org.vn
Ngo Xuan Hien, Communications & Development Manager, 0915 352 565 mobile
Email: ngoxuanhien at gmail.com
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