The disposal team from the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) has safely deactivated a 360kg bomb left from the US war in Việt Nam. — VNA/VNS Photo

QUẢNG BÌNH — The mobile bomb disposal team from the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) said on Wednesday that it successfully deactivated an unexploded wartime bomb discovered in Lâm Hoá Commune, Tuyên Hoá District, the central province of Quảng Bình.

The bomb was spotted by a resident in Chuối village while visiting his family's hillside farm. He immediately alerted local authorities after finding the large bomb near a stream bank. This marks the second time this man has discovered unexploded ordnance in the area, with another found near his home in 2012.

Technical experts identified the explosive as an M117 bomb weighing 360kg with a blast radius exceeding 1.5km, used extensively by the US military forces during the war in Việt Nam. After some 80 minutes of careful work, the team successfully defused the bomb and transported it to a demolition site. Authorities plan to completely destroy the device in the coming days, along with other explosive materials, ahead of the 50th anniversary of Việt Nam's Reunification Day on April 30.

Since its operations in Quảng Bình in 2002, MAG has received over 6,000 reports from local residents who discovered explosive materials. These alerts have enabled MAG to safely remove more than 57,600 explosive devices from populated areas. — VNA/VNS