Illustrative photo (Photo: VNA) Dien Bien (VNA) - The Military Command of Dien Bien city and sappers from the Military High Command of the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien on March 14 safely detonated an about 150-kg bomb dropped by the US troops during the war in Vietnam.
The bomb was discovered on March 6 in the foot of a hill between the two residential areas in Him Lam ward, Dien Bien Phu city, by a construction unit.
This is the second bomb found in the province in 2018. On March 2, an over 300-kg bomb, which was discovered by a local man in the foot of a hill near a residential area in Him Lam ward, was deactivated.
According to the Technology Centre for Bomb and Mine Disposal under the Engineering Command, up to 7,645 of the 8,686 communes in Vietnam’s 63 provinces and cities are polluted with unexploded ordnance (UXOs).
The US army used more than 15 million tonnes of bombs and mines in the war in Vietnam, four times the amount used in World War II. As a result, Vietnam has been listed among the countries most contaminated with UXOs.
According to the National Steering Committee for Recovery over Postwar Bomb and Landmine Impacts, about 800,000 tonnes of UXOs are scattering across 6.6 million hectares, or 20.12 percent of the country’s land, mainly in the central region, putting people in danger every day.
Vietnam has cleared hundreds of thousands of hectares of UXOs so far.-VNA
VNA
