Illustrative photo (Photo: VNA)Dien Bien (VNA) - The Military Command of Dien Bien city and sappers from theMilitary High Command of the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien onMarch 14 safely detonated an about 150-kg bomb dropped by the US troops duringthe war in Vietnam.
The bomb was discovered onMarch 6 in the foot of a hill between the two residential areas in Him Lamward, Dien Bien Phu city, by a construction unit.
This is the second bomb found in the province in2018. On March 2, an over 300-kg bomb, which was discovered by a local man inthe foot of a hill near a residential area in Him Lam ward, was deactivated.
According to the Technology Centre for Bomb andMine Disposal under the Engineering Command, up to 7,645 of the 8,686 communesin Vietnam’s 63 provinces and cities are polluted with unexploded ordnance(UXOs).
The US army used more than 15 million tonnes ofbombs and mines in the war in Vietnam, four times the amount used in World WarII. As a result, Vietnam has been listed among the countries most contaminatedwith UXOs.
According to the National Steering Committee forRecovery over Postwar Bomb and Landmine Impacts, about 800,000 tonnes of UXOsare scattering across 6.6 million hectares, or 20.12 percent of the country’sland, mainly in the central region, putting people in danger every day.
Vietnam has cleared hundreds of thousands ofhectares of UXOs so far.-VNA
VNA
