Hai Lang, Quang Tri (19 December 2018) — A 220-pound U.S. aircraft bomb found on a clearance site near My Thuy Beach was safely destroyed today by demining teams managed by Norwegian People’s Aid – Project RENEW (NPA-RENEW).
Unearthed at the depth of 1.2 meters on Wednesday by NPA-RENEW’s Battle Area Clearance (BAC) teams who were clearing a Confirmed Hazardous Area in Thuan Dau Village of Hai An Commune, the heavy weapon was identified an air-dropped fragmentation bomb, AN M88 series, which contained 20.7 kilogram of Comp B explosive.
According to the National Technical Officer Bui Trong Hong, a retired PAVN Colonel, the bomb’s nose and bottom fuses hadn’t been activated since it was dropped.
That is the reason why the AN M88 failed to explode on impact. It is a safe-to-remove item so our men can remove it from the site for disposal.
Col. Bui Trong Hong, National Technical Officer
On Thursday morning, the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Team No. 3 under Col. Hong’s supervision transported the bomb to their Central Demolition Site in Hai Que Commune, Hai Lang District where they safely destroyed it before lunch break.
Since October 2018, two BAC teams working in Thuan Dau Villageof Hai An Commune have cleared over 376,000 square meters of land. The teams have so far found and safely destroyed more than 200 items of cluster munitions and other unexploded ordnance.
Situated three kilometers from the Wunder Beach, or My Thuy, a former U.S. Army logistics and supply base, Thuan Dau Village was subject to heavy air and naval strikes as well as fierce ground fighting between 1968 and 1975. The village has sustained four deaths and one injury since the war ended.
Once the clearance is completed, 1,845 residents of Thuan Dau, Tay Tan An and Gia Dang Villages will have more safe land areas to expand their shrimp farming and scallion production. More importantly, part of the land will be developed into a new resettlement zone for those families who live in areas that are prone to flooding.
The Norwegian People’s Aid – Project RENEW’s UXO Survey & Clearance Program is funded by the U.S. Department of State and DFID – UK Department for International Development.
Project RENEW was established in 2001 as a joint effort between the government of Quang Tri Province and interested INGOs to “restore the environment and neutralize the effects of the war” – with the main focus on unexploded ordinance.
Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) is one of the leading organizations worldwide in humanitarian disarmament. NPA has worked in Vietnam since 2008 following the signing of an MOU with the government of Quang Tri People’s Committee to support the development of Project RENEW’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) capacity. NPA’s operational footprint now covers all of Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue Provinces, with an increase of assets to four Battle Area Clearance teams, one Non-Technical Survey team, four EOD teams, and 25 Technical Survey teams.
