Quảng Trị Military Command's officers dealing with the found bombs in Hướng Hoá District. — VNA/VNS Photo

QUẢNG TRỊ — The Military Command of the central province of Quảng Tri, in collaboration with the Golden West Organisation of the US, on November 21 defused two war-time bombs in Hướng Lập Commune, the mountainous district of Hướng Hoá.

After receiving information from local residents, the command’s combat engineer unit promptly approached the site and isolated the area. They found that one of the bombs is a 340kg M117 and the other is a Mark 82 (MK82) weighing 230 kg.

In a process controlled from afar, combat engineers separated the detonator from the part that contains the explosive of the MK82 bomb. After being removed from the bomb, the detonator was destroyed at the site.

Meanwhile, the M117 bomb were moved to a safe place for later treatment.

Quảng Trị is the most polluted locality in Việt Nam in terms of UXOs. Landmines and bombs have killed over 3,430 people and injured 5,100 others since the war ended in 1975.

So far, 34 non-governmental and 23 international organisations have joined bomb and mine clearance efforts in the province, which targets becoming the first locality nationwide to be free from wartime bombs, mines and other UXOs by 2025. — VNS