Wartime bomb safely disposed in Lao Cai province
Lao Cai (VNA) – The Military Command of Bao Yen district in the
northern mountainous province of Lao Cai on October 19 removed a 350-kilogramme bomb left
from wartime in Bao Ha commune, and destroyed it safely.
The bomb was found lying at a depth of four metres on October 16 by a worker while he was operating an excavator
at a construction site of Bao Ha No.1 Primary School in Bao
Ha commune.
Receiving the information, the Bao Ha commune
People’s Committee promptly zoned off the dangerous area, asked students to
stay at home, and evacuated two households nearby.
Decades after the end of war, Vietnam still suffers from the deadly threat from
bombs, mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) left by war.
According to the Vietnam National Mine Action Centre, all 63 provinces and centrally-run cities in Vietnam are contaminated with UXO, with 6.1 million hectares of land in total (18.41% of the country’s acreage) affected. It is estimated that between 600,000 – 800,000 tonnes of UXO are still hidden underground, and 110,000 people have so far become victims of UXO./.