Officers of the provincial Engineering Command deactivated the bomb. VNA/VNS Photo

NGHỆ AN – A 226kg bomb left over from the war was safely deactivated by the military command and sappers of the central province of Nghệ An on Monday.

Local residents in Thạch Sơn hamlet, Ngọc Sơn Commune, Thanh Chương District discovered the bomb at a depth of 50cm while digging soil for construction of a rural road.

The bomb, 25cm in diametre, 150cm in length, and labelled MK-82, was safely removed and defused at a designated site in Thanh Thủy Commune.

According to the Technology Centre for Bomb and Mine Disposal under the Engineering Command, up to 7,645 of the 8,686 communes in Việt Nam’s 63 provinces and cities are polluted with unexploded ordnance (UXOs).

Statistics from the National Steering Committee for Recovery over Postwar Bomb and Landmine Impacts showed that some 800,000 tonnes of UXOs are scattered across 6.6 million ha, or 20.12 per cent of the country’s land, mainly in the central region, putting people in danger everyday. — VNS