Quang Tri, Vietnam (5 November 2025) – A Quang Tri family narrowly escaped injury late Friday afternoon when an explosion occurred in their rice field, just five meters from their house in Le Xuyen Village, Nam Cua Viet Commune.

QTMAC staff member recording coordinates where the explosion created a large crater. Photo: Quang Tri Mine Action Center.

According to an official report filed the same day by the Nam Cua Viet Commune Military Command, the explosion was suspected to have been caused by a deeply buried wartime projectile that automatically detonated in the garden field of Mr. Nguyen Tac, located west of Le Xuyen Village. Local police and commune military officers quickly arrived at the scene to assess the situation and reassure the villagers.

Video captured by Mr. Nguyen Tac’s exterior camera at 16:22 on 31 October 2025 shows the explosion sending soil and water high into the air.

A video extracted from homeowner Nguyen Tac’s exterior camera shows that the blast occurred at 16:22 on 31 October 2025, sending soil and water high into the air, startling Mr. Tac, his family, and nearby residents. The explosion drove chickens and dogs to scatter in panic, but fortunately, no one was outside at the time.

In April 2013, an elderly couple in the same village of Le Xuyen had a narrow escape when a five-inch naval shell buried beneath their home foundation exploded one Saturday evening. They were not hurt, though the explosion shredded part of their house. (Read more here.)

Acknowledging the official report from the Nam Cua Viet Commune Military Command, a Quang Tri Mine Action Center (QTMAC) team visited the site on Saturday morning to verify and collect information. Mr. Nguyen Tac, 62, confirmed that the blast created a crater about four meters in diameter and two to three meters deep in the rice garden adjacent to his home, where rice had been harvested a couple of months earlier.

Screenshot of the Confirmed Hazardous Area (CHA) pending clearance near the location of the explosion in Le Xuyen Village. Source: QTMAC database.

According to QTMAC, Nam Cua Viet Commune has 43 Confirmed Hazardous Areas (CHAs) with a total area of 16,924,591 square meters. Of this, 35 CHAs (14,925,047 m²) have been cleared. Six CHAs remain uncleared, including the one near Mr. Tac’s rice field.

Located along the coastline, Trieu Phong District was subject to many naval attacks during the period of 1968–1972. That explains why many coastal communes are heavily impacted by unexploded projectiles, in addition to other explosive remnants of war.

The explosion serves as another reminder of the lingering danger posed by wartime ordnance in Quang Tri Province, which straddled the former Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divided North and South Vietnam from 1954 to 1975 and endured some of the heaviest bombardment of the war.

Data managed by QTMAC shows that a total of 619,465,479 square meters of land in Quang Tri¹ have been confirmed as contaminated with cluster munitions. As of today, 44.4 percent of that total area has been made safe through the ongoing clearance efforts of MAG, PeaceTrees Vietnam, and NPA/RENEW.

Residents are reminded to report any discovery of explosive ordnance immediately to the Quang Tri Mine Action Center Hotline: 0901 941 941.

Project RENEW – Restoring the Environment and Neutralizing the Effects of the War
18 Nguyen Co Thach Street, Nam Dong Ha, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam
0233 3858 445 | ✉️ admin@landmines.org.vn | www.landmines.org.vn

Ngo Xuan Hien, Communications & Development Manager
0915 352 565 | ✉️ ngoxuanhien@landmines.org.vn

A man was killed in Quang Tri Province on Monday, May 13th, 2024, when a wartime munition exploded. The incident occurred around midday in Hien Thanh Commune, Vinh Linh District.

The victim, a 34-year-old resident of Liem Cong Phuong Village, suffered fatal injuries from the blast. According to a witness, the man retrieved the munition from a pond while fishing and brought it to a nearby tarmac road, where it subsequently exploded.

The sole witness, who was tending his duck farm about 300 meters away, rushed to the scene after hearing the explosion and seeing black smoke. Having tried to provide first-aid to the victim, he then called for an ambulance to transport the victim to Quang Tri General Hospital in Dong Ha, but the man succumbed to his injuries.

Responding to the accident, the Quang Tri Mine Action Center (QTMAC) dispatched a survey team to the accident site. While they found a 10-centimeter-deep crater marking the detonation on the road, no remaining fragments of the weapon were recovered. Local authorities in Vinh Linh District, based on witness accounts, believe the munition might have been a 60mm mortar round.

The victim, whose family said he had a mental disorder, was unemployed and lived with his 59-year-old mother and younger brother. Their family circumstances are described as difficult.

This incident serves as a stark reminder of the lingering dangers posed by unexploded ordnance (UXO) in areas impacted by war. QTMAC confirmed that the accident location falls between two designated hazardous areas identified for future clearance efforts. This highlights the ongoing need for explosive ordnance awareness education and continued clearance operations to ensure the safety of residents in Quang Tri Province.

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Project RENEW – Restoring the Environment and Neutralizing the Effects of the War 18 Nguyen Co Thach Street, Dong Ha City, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam 0233 3858 445 tel / admin@landmines.org.vn / www.landmines.org.vn Ngo Xuan Hien, Communications & Development Manager, 0915 352 565 mobile / Email: ngoxuanhien@landmines.org.vn

Even a near-perfect record of no UXO accidents over a period of years cannot be sustained forever. Explosive ordnance accidents can still happen in Quang Tri, and they do — another one this week.

The second accident of 2022 — and the second accident after a period of four years with no accidents — just occurred on Thursday, 2 June 2022, in Xa Bai Village of Huong Linh Commune, Huong Hoa District. The blast from an explosive munition assumed to be a bomb fuze, according to Quang Tri Mine Action Center’s investigation team, seriously injured 15-year-old Ho Van Sy, a Bru Van Kieu ninth-grader. The accident happened as Sy and two younger boys, Ho Tam Nhin and Ho Van Ty, were looking for bee honey in their village. The boys encountered a yellow cylindrical object that the youngest boy Ho Van Ty recalled as 20 cm long.  They all thought it was an explosive. However, as the two younger boys were standing some distance away, Sy threw the object, which exploded when it hit a concrete embankment that protects a wind power turbine.  Hearing the blast and calls for help from Nhin and Ty, wind power workers and locals rushed to the scene and transported the injured boy to the hospital. The blast caused multiple injuries to the 15-year-old boy’s right leg and abdomen. According to doctors at Quang Tri General Hospital, Ho Van Ty has now regained consciousness, and his injuries are no longer life-threatening.

The record of ZERO accidents over four years in Quang Tri Province could not be sustained once a mortar round exploded on 16 Feb 2022, killing a 43-year-old farmer and father of one daughter residing in Cam Nghia Commune, Cam Lo District.  Now the second accident has occurred, this one in nearby Huong Linh Commune, Huong Hoa District, within only four months of the first accident. Ho Van Sy is the first child (under 18 years of age) to be injured by explosive ordnance over a period of eight years, during which Quang Tri had NO child victims. That previous accident, on 17 October 2014, resulted in critical injuries to a 17-year-old boy in Cam Nghia Commune, Cam Lo District when an unidentified munition went off in his family’s front yard.

This week’s accident in Huong Linh Commune is a grim reminder of the lingering impact of explosive ordnance and the importance of continued reinforcement of awareness among adults — and particularly teenagers.  As we make further progress in survey and clearance of explosive ordnance, local people must continue to be vigilant and protect themselves and their families from the threat of bombs and mines for many years to come.

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Project RENEW – Restoring the Environment and Neutralizing the Effects of the War  Building D, Service Center for Foreign Affairs, Nguyen Co Thach Street, Dong Ha City, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam 0233 3858 445 tel / projectrenewvietnam@gmail.com / www.landmines.org.vn
Ngo Xuan Hien, Communications & Development Manager, 0915 352 565 mobile
Email: ngoxuanhien@gmail.com

An accident caused by explosive remnants of war around 13:30, Wednesday,  February 16, 2022, killed a man who resided in Phuong An 1 Village of Cam Nghia Commune, Cam Lo District, Quang Tri Province. The neighbors rushed to the victim’s home after hearing the explosion found Mr. Le Chi Truong dead on the spot at the corner of his kitchen.

Upon receiving the information, Quang Tri Mine Action Center (QTMAC) sent a team to Phuong An 1 Village for investigating the accident scene. Having identified the remaining shrapnel after the blast, QTMAC staff members concluded that the explosive ordnance that exploded was an 81mm mortar round – the first accident in Quang Tri after more than four years.

Mr. Le Van Phuoc, the uncle of the victim, confirmed that his nephew was repairing the corner of his kitchen, digging a drainage ditch when he hit the explosive ordnance. The wife and an 11-year-old daughter, a fifth-grader of the victim, were not at home at the time the tragic accident occurred.

Born in 1979, Mr. Truong was the family breadwinner. Having no farming land, he made a living by working for other villagers. The couple’s income was modest, about 230 dollars per month. His family was just taken out of the list of poor households several months ago.

Cam Nghia Commune since 1975 has sustained 93 accidents related to post-war unexploded ordnance. The most recent accident was in 2014. 

The information of the Phuong An accident was shared by Mr. Hoang Nam, Deputy Chairman of Quang Tri Province People’s Committee, Head of the Province Mine Action Steering Board when he spoke at the Conference on the review of Vietnam national mine action program period 2010-2020 that took place in Hanoi in the morning of February 18, 2022. The conference was attended by the Prime Minister, National Defense Minister, leaders of central agencies and provincial governments, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations.

The unexploded ordnance accident in Cam Nghia Commune on Wednesday ended the record of ZERO casualties due to unexploded ordnance that had been sustained for more than four years in Quang Tri Province. This is a grim reminder of the lingering threat of unexploded ordnance that remains and the ongoing efforts to deal with the legacies of war must continue.

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Project RENEW  Restoring the Environment and Neutralizing the Effects of the War Building D, Service Center for Foreign Affairs, 11 Nguyen Co Thach Street.  Dong Ha City, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam 0233 3858 445 tel / projectrenewvietnam@gmail.com / www.landmines.org.vn
Ngo Xuan Hien, Communications & Development Manager, 0915 352 565 mobile
Email: ngoxuanhien@gmail.com

RENEW-NPA Team Leader Le Xuan Tung checks five items of Chinese made 82mm mortar rounds found inside the mechanical workshop. Hai Khe, Hai Lang, Quang Tri. 14 August 2017. Hien Xuan Ngo / Project RENEW-NPA.

A mechanic narrowly escaped serious injury from a mortar fragment in an explosion at his workshop on Sunday. The explosion, which occurred around 4:30 p.m., shook the entire coastal village of Trung An in Hai Khe Village, Hai Lang District.  The site is about 50km south of the former DMZ.

31-year-old Tran Trung Hau was recklessly welding small steel hooks to mortar rounds that had been brought in by a neighbor who had used these dangerous munitions as fishing sinkers. He had asked if these munitions were safe and the customer insisted that they contained no explosive.

When mechanic Hau was working on the fourth mortar, it exploded. Fragments breached sheets of cement that made up the workshop’s roof, but fortunately Hau was turned away from the immediate blast and only suffered minor injuries. A Y-shape steel supporting shelf had blocked him from the impact.  A big piece of shrapnel was found about 100 meters from the workshop, according to local police.

Fortunately, Hau only had slight scratches to his leg and he was temporarily blinded from gunpowder in his eyes.  He was immediately taken to the provincial hospital for examination and later was allowed to go home. Doctors said that he would need two weeks for his eyes to recover.

A Military Officer based at Hai Khe called Project RENEW-NPA to report the accident and to ask for support. Local authorities including Hai Lang District police and My Thuy Coast Guards sealed off the workshop to prevent neighbors from coming closer to the hazard.

On Monday, Project RENEW-NPA mobile EOD Team No. 1 arrived in Trung An Village and followed local police and military personnel to the accident scene. Inside the workshop the team found five items of Chinese made 82mm mortar rounds. Bolts and steel hooks were attached to some, indicating that they had been used as fishing sinkers for many years.

“Despite having no fuzes and tail fins, these mortars are still dangerous and can explode when they are disturbed,” said EOD Team Leader Le Xuan Tung. “The heat from the welding rod detonated the mortar.  This man is very lucky to survive the blast.”

Five Chinese made 82mm mortar rounds with bolts and hooks on their casings indicate they have been used as fishing sinkers for many years. Hai Khe, Hai Lang, Quang Tri. 14 August 2017. Hien Xuan Ngo / Project RENEW-NPA.

RENEW-NPA EOD team has transported the five mortars to the central demolition site for disposal later.

Tran Nhan Hau has been running his mechanical shop for two years, since returning from four years of working in Korea. His wife is pregnant and they are expecting their first child next month. The accident has shocked the father-to-be and he is unsure whether he will resume working in the workshop.

According to a Coast Guard representative, people making a living at fishing along the coast in Hai Lang sometimes still use wartime munitions as fishing sinkers.

This accident marked the first casualty caused by unexploded ordnance in Quang Tri Province in 2017.

Nguyen Hieu Trung, Coordination Manager of Project RENEW, said that EOD teams and other RENEW-NPA staff were hoping this might be the first year since the war that Quang Tri Province could record zero accidents in an entire year.

“More than eight months this year without a single incident is good progress,” Trung noted, “but this incident shows us that we must continue to be vigilant.”

Trung said there are pockets of activity that RENEW staff don’t always know about, where dangerous practices could cause death, injury, destruction of homes and other property.  “We have to take the RENEW safety message into all of these places, to warn people of the danger and to discourage them from harmful activities,” he said.

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Project RENEW
Restoring the Environment and Neutralizing the Effects of the War
Project RENEW Coordination Office
Kids First Village, 185 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Dong Ha City, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam
0233 3858 445 tel / 0233 3858 442 fax
projectrenewvietnam@gmail.com / www.landmines.org.vn
Ngo Xuan Hien, Communications & Development Manager, 0915 352 565 mobile
Email: ngoxuanhien@gmail.com

19 May 2016

A cluster bomb explosion in Quang Tri Province has killed one deminer and injured another, both technical staff managed by Project RENEW and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA).  The accident occurred on Wednesday, 18 May, in Co Luy Village of Hai Ba Commune, Hai Lang District.

Team Leader Ngo Thien Khiet, age 45 and one of Project RENEW’s most experienced and senior technicians, was fatally injured in the explosion and later died at the provincial hospital’s emergency ward.  The other operator, 43-year-old Nguyen Van Hao, suffered less serious injuries and will survive the blast.  Hao has been transferred to Hue Central Hospital for further treatment.

The explosion occurred around 9:00 a.m. Wednesday when the technical survey team was searching for cluster munitions and other explosive weapons in a rice paddy field where local farmers had just finished harvesting their rice.

The two casualties were immediately stabilized by team medics and evacuated to Hai Lang District Hospital, later transferred to Quang Tri Province’s General Hospital.

“This is tragic for Khiet’s immediate family,” said Nguyen Thi Dieu Linh, Operations Manager for the 160-member staff, “and it is a terrible loss for all of us at Project RENEW and NPA, who are like one big family.  It’s a very sad time for everyone.”

Linh said the accident will be investigated to try to determine exactly what happened, to ensure that such an incident never happens again.

“Our sincere condolences go out to Khiet’s family and our colleagues at Project RENEW,” said Jonathon Guthrie, NPA Project Manager. “NPA and RENEW will do whatever we can to find out what caused this tragic accident.  We are working with local authorities in the ongoing investigation.”

“Our thoughts are with Khiet’s family. This is a terrible loss for the entire Project RENEW’s staff. It is the first time since Project RENEW was established in 2001 that our staff  has experienced any accident — and this one is a real tragedy,” said Nguyen Hieu Trung, Project RENEW Coordination Manager.

Since the war ended in 1975, cluster munitions, or “bombies” as they are called by local Vietnamese, have accounted for nearly 40% of total casualties in Quang Tri Province, according to statistics from the Legacies of War Coordination Center.

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Project RENEW
Restoring the Environment and Neutralizing the Effects of the War
Project RENEW Coordination Office
Kids First Village, 185 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Dong Ha City, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam
053 3858 445 tel / 053 3858 442 fax
projectrenewvietnam@gmail.com / www.landmines.org.vn
Ngo Xuan Hien, Communications & Development Manager, 0915 352 565 mobile
Email: ngoxuanhien@gmail.com

Tran Van Du at the Quang Tri General Hospital after surgery and treatment for injuries caused by an unidentified piece of unexploded ordnance in Cam Tuyen Commune, Quang Tri Province.

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Cam Lo, Quang Tri (28 August 2015)

A young man in Quang Tri Province was lucky that an explosion of wartime ordnance on Thursday left him with only slight injuries.

23-year-old Tran Van Du was digging holes to prepare for planting acacia seedlings when his hoe hit an unidentified item of ordnance that detonated, shredding the blade of his hoe and causing a two-centimeter cut to his left leg below the knee.  A piece of shrapnel also penetrated his leg and lodged there.

The accident happened about four p.m.  An hour later, the young man was at Quang Tri General Hospital where doctors operated on his injury, successfully removing a small piece of shrapnel from his leg.

The accident occurred in Tan Hoa Village of Cam Tuyen Commune on land that had been previously bulldozed.  The unidentified ordnance was struck at depth of about 20cm so it was not visible to Du as he was working the field.

The fifth child of a family of six children, Du dropped out of school when he was 14 years old to work and help his family.  His father, Tran Thanh Dai, said, “My son then spent some years working in Ho Chi Minh City, and now he has returned home to help us with farming work.”

In June this year, another explosion of an unexploded projectile killed a 42-year-old farmer  near his family’s rubber farm in Trung Son Commune of Gio Linh District.

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Project RENEW
Restoring the Environment and Neutralizing the Effects of the War
Dự án Phục hồi Môi trường và Khắc phục Hậu quả Chiến tranh
Project RENEW Coordination Office
Kids First Village, 185 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Dong Ha City, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam
053 3858 445 tel / 053 3858 442 fax
projectrenewvietnam@gmail.com / www.landmines.org.vn
Ngo Xuan Hien, Communications & Development Manager, 0915 352 565 mobile
Email: ngoxuanhien@gmail.com

Le Huu Ha’s three children, 8-year-old Le Thi Hang at left holding 14-month-old baby sister Le Thi Thuy Trang, and their 12-year-old brother Le Huu Huy, stand by their father’s funeral altar.

Gio Linh, Quang Tri (25 June 2015)

An explosion of wartime ordnance on Tuesday afternoon killed a 42-year-old farmer and father of three young children in Trung Son Commune of Gio Linh District, Quang Tri Province.  The exact circumstances of the tragedy are unknown.

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Le Huu Ha, a farmer living in Tien Kim Village (formerly known as Binh Tien) of Gio Binh Commune, died in an explosion near his family’s rubber farm Tuesday afternoon, 23 June.  The location was in the area of the former DMZ or “demilitarized zone” during the war, along the Ben Hai River which divided north and south.

The accident occurred on a trail leading to property owned by Mr. Le Van Chien, a neighbor, near a garden rest area with a bamboo stall and a hammock.  Nearby was an excavator hired by Mr. Ha to dig holes and a water reservoir in to prepare for planting orange trees in August.  The excavator was parked and idle.

“I was tending my buffaloes about 500 meters away when I heard a loud boom,” neighbor Chien said.  “I heard the whir of fragments, then a piece of shrapnel dropped near where I was.”

The first person to arrive at the accident scene was Mr. Le Nguong, 71 years old, who also lives nearby. “I was walking home from my farm and was about 150 meters from the explosion,” said Nguong. “I was so shocked that I could not stand steady on the ground.”

Mr. Nguong ran toward the explosion site and saw that the excavator’s windshield was smashed.  He saw a large crater in the ground, but did not see the body of his younger neighbor. Nguong called his son and told him of the accident, asking him to inform Ha’s family.  Mr. Le Thanh, whose sister was married to Ha, and other neighbors hurried to the scene.

Thanh said they did not see the body because the explosion tore his brother-in-law to pieces.  Family and neighbors searched all night and into the next day to collect body parts.

RENEW and MAG staff are led to the accident location.

Project RENEW staff and members of MAG’s Community Liaison Team arrived at the site in the afternoon and examined the accident scene.  Around the explosion pit, treetops and branches were sheared off.  Debris and shards of metal were scattered around.  Shrapnel even cut down two of Mr. Nguong’s rubber trees more than 150 meters away.

Col. Bui Trong Hong, retired military officer and National Technical Advisor for RENEW, said a 20-cm x 15mm thick fragment found at the bottom of the explosion pit confirmed that the ordnance was a type of projectile, caliber between 127 to 155mm. Col. Hong said the victim might have struck the ordnance while he was working, he might have dropped it if he had attempted to move it, a number of things could have caused the explosion. Because there were no witnesses, there is no way to know exactly what happened.

A 15mm thick x 20cm long piece of shrapnel was found at the explosion pit, evidence that the explosion was caused by a projectile of 127 to 155mm caliber.

After paying respects at the funeral altar and talking with the family at home, RENEW and MAG team members met with the Gio Binh’s Commune People’s Committee to discuss the tragedy.

As breadwinner for a five-member family, Mr. Ha’s death puts a terrible burden on the shoulders of his 39-year-old wife, who now must raise three young children alone.  The two older children, ages 8 and 12, are grieving their father’s death. Only later will the 14-month-old baby understand the tragedy that has befallen her family.

Mr. Vo Nhu Trang, Deputy Head of the Party Committee of Gio Binh Commune, said this was the first UXO casualty in the commune in more than six years. “We have had risk education in this commune in the past,” he said.  “Until 2012 it was integrated into school activities,” he said.  “But since 2012, no risk education activities have been conducted.”

Mr. Bui Ngoc Duong, Deputy Chairman of the People’s Committee of Gio Binh, said the commune needs financial and technical support to reinforce people’s awareness about UXO risks.

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Project RENEW
Restoring the Environment and Neutralizing the Effects of the War
Dự án Phục hồi Môi trường và Khắc phục Hậu quả Chiến tranh
Project RENEW Coordination Office
Kids First Village, 185 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Dong Ha City, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam
053 3858 445 tel / 053 3858 442 fax
projectrenewvietnam@gmail.com / www.landmines.org.vn
Ngo Xuan Hien, Communications & Development Manager, 0915 352 565 mobile
Email: ngoxuanhien@gmail.com

Dong Ha, Quang Tri (October 20, 2014)

An ordnance explosion last Friday morning critically injured a 17-year-old boy, Tran Van Hoan, in Hoan Cat Village, Cam Nghia Commune of Cam Lo District.

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According to the victim’s uncle, Tran Dinh Quyet, the boy and his mother had returned from collecting cassava when they stopped to visit their relative, Ms. Dang Thi Don. The explosion occurred in front of Ms. Don’s house.

“Hearing the blast, I rushed to see Hoan lying on the ground bleeding. I saw his bike against the wall and two bricks nearby, one of which was broken,” Quyet said. “I think he was trying to fix his bicycle’s chain.”

There is no indication of how the explosion occurred or what type of device caused it.

The blast cut off Hoan’s left hand, ripped his head from the forehead to the nose. The boy also suffered injuries to his left shoulder and nose and lips.

Three days after the accident, Hoan is still in a coma and under special monitoring at Quang Tri
Hospital’s Emergency Room where he’s on a mechanical ventilator. Photo: Hoang Tao, VnExpress.

Doctors say he is still in a coma and they are unsure if he will recover. A piece of shrapnel inside his head has not been taken out yet because of his extremely weak condition.

According to Cao Xuan Chung, Secretary of Hoan Cat Village’s Youth Union, Hoan hasn’t completed middle school yet. He has a lisp, and his family lives in disadvantaged conditions which caused him to drop out of school. Both he and his older sister are disabled and both of them have to work to earn modest income to help their mother.

Cam Lo District’s Police are now working with village authorities to investigate the cause of this accident.

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Project RENEW
Restoring the Environment and Neutralizing the Effects of the War
Dự án Phục hồi Môi trường và Khắc phục Hậu quả Chiến tranh
Project RENEW Coordination Office
Kids First Village, 185 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Dong Ha City, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam
053 3858 445 tel / 053 3858 442 fax
projectrenewvietnam@gmail.com / www.landmines.org.vn
Ngo Xuan Hien, Communications & Development Manager, 0915 352 565 mobile
Email: ngoxuanhien@gmail.com

Trieu Phong, Quang Tri Province (06 October 2014)

Five adults were seriously injured when a piece of wartime ordnance accidentally exploded at 10 o’clock on Saturday morning at a scrap yard in Village 9, Trieu Van Commune. The explosion occurred as workers were loading scrap materials onto a truck hired by a scrap dealer.

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The loading was almost finished when one of the workers lifted a plastic bag that contained assorted pieces of metal. An item of ordnance fell out of the bag, hit the the ground – striking the paved cement loading area – and exploded on impact.

Three men and two women were injured, one of them seriously. Forty-five-year-old Nguyen Thanh Nhan suffered life-threatening injuries with deep cuts in both legs and a large piece of shrapnel which penetrated his abdomen. The other two men, Tran Trien and Phan Van Bi, aged 52 and 38 respectively, suffered minor injuries. Two 43-year-old women, scrap dealer Le Thi Tan Be and scrap yard owner Bui Thi Binh, suffered minor injuries to their arms.

According to a Trieu Van Commune military official who was the first to arrive at the accident scene, all five victims were administered first aid and stabilized by the commune’s health worker, then transported to Quang Tri General Hospital for further treatment.

Military liaison officer Nguyen Van Thanh in Trieu Phong District notified Project RENEW which immediately dispatched an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team to Trieu Van Commune to investigate. The team found that the detonated item was a 90mm projectile fuze. The explosion had sent metal fragments flying in all directions, ripping into the three men and two women.

RENEW EOD Team Leader Mai Van Viet and National Technical Officer Bui Trong Hong investigating the remnants of the 90mm projectile fuze that exploded.

“We made a thorough check inside the scrap yard and found three more items of explosive remnants that were dangerous,” said RENEW’s National Technical Officer Bui Trong Hong. “These were transported to our Central Demolition Site in Trieu Trach for later destruction.”

Nguyen Thanh Nhan, the most critically injured victim, underwent surgery at Quang Tri General Hospital on Saturday and is now is now in post-op treatment, in stable condition. Doctors say they removed a piece of shrapnel, about three cm long, from his abdomen. His life is no longer in danger but he will need time to fully recover.

The three-centimeter long shrapnel that penetrated deep into Nguyen Thanh N.’s abdomen was safely removed by surgeons.

The father of four children, Nhan has worked for many years with scrap collectors. “I know UXO is dangerous,” he said, “but I did not know a piece of UXO was inside the bag.” Nhan’s wife, Phan Thi Hoa, said this was the second time her husband has been injured by a UXO explosion. “The first accident was in 1986 when a cluster bomb exploded as Nhan was planting acacia seedlings,” said Hoa.

Having run the small scrap recycling and sales business for almost 20 years, Mrs. Bui Thi Binh understands the risks of UXO. But Saturday’s accident was sudden and unexpected, with no indication or warning. No one knew that the ordnance was mixed in with pieces of scrap metal in the closed bag.

In 2008, Ms. Binh’s family was among 26 families in the scrap business in Quang Tri Province who received from Project RENEW a concrete bin with a heavy lockable lid called a Temporary Bin for Munitions (TBM) or Thùng Bom Mìn. The TBM, recessed into the earth, provided scrap dealers with a safe place to quarantine deadly hazardous UXO from exposure to children and local residents until Project RENEW teams could come on a weekly basis to carry out safe disposal of all items. Since then nearly 4,000 items of UXO have been collected and safely destroyed from scrap metal yards.

The scrap business has been on the decline, and the number of scrap yards still needing support from Project RENEW has dropped from 26 to seven. Still, the risk of being maimed or killed by UXO brought in by scrap metal collectors remains.

The explosion Saturday was a reminder of the importance of maintaining the TBM initiative, coupled with regular retraining of scrap yard owners. Reinforcement of safety and accident prevention messages through Mine Risk Education must continue to be an ongoing priority for all children and adults in Quang Tri Province.

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Project RENEW
Restoring the Environment and Neutralizing the Effects of the War
Dự án Phục hồi Môi trường và Khắc phục Hậu quả Chiến tranh
Project RENEW Coordination Office
Kids First Village, 185 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Dong Ha City, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam
053 3858 445 tel / 053 3858 442 fax
projectrenewvietnam@gmail.com / www.landmines.org.vn
Ngo Xuan Hien, Communications & Development Manager, 0915 352 565 mobile
Email: ngoxuanhien@gmail.com