Sappers in Quang Ninh transport the 1.45m-long bomb to a safe place for detonation (Photo: VNA)Quang Ninh (VNA) – Military forcesin the northern provinces of Quang Ninh and Hoa Binh safely defused several war-leftbombs on April 6.
In Quang Ninh, a man found a 250-kg bomb inHa Long city’s Hong Ha ward at 7:30 am on April 6. He alerted the authoritiesand the local sappers transported the 1.45m-long bomb to a safe place fordetonation within the morning.
In Hoa Binh, two bombs believed to dateback to the anti-French resistance war were found at a pond in Hop Thinhcommune, Ky Son district on April 5 when farmers dredged the pond for raisingfish.
Weighing about 60 kg, each bomb is 80 cmlong and 30 cm in diameter. The site was blockaded until the bombs were movedto a safe place for detonation the next morning.
Post-war bombs and mines have remained a dailythreat to people and a headache for the Vietnamese Government.
It isestimated that more than 6.1 million ha of land or 18.71 percent of Vietnam’stotal area are contaminated with about 800,000 tonnes of bombs, mines andunexploded ordnances (UXO) left by wars, which are scattered over all 63 citiesand provinces in the country, with the central region the hardest hit.
Between 1975and now, bombs and mines killed more than 40,000 people and injured 60,000others.
Each year, Vietnam decontaminated from40,000-50,000 ha of land. However, it will take more than a century to clearall bombs and mines in the country, with an estimated cost of over 10 billionUSD, excluding spending on resettlement and social welfare work in the dangerzones.-VNA
VNA
