Gio Linh, Quang Tri (27 October 2020) – In response to four emergency callouts from local residents in Gio Linh District, the mobile Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team No. 1 of RENEW/NPA on Tuesday safely destroyed three 40mm grenades and one projectile.

This week, RENEW/NPA resumed normal survey and clearance operations in  Quang Tri Province following a two-week suspension due to the impact of the historic flooding that decimated central Vietnam.

In An Khe Villagge of Gio Son Commune, the EOD team met 35-year-old Le Gia Cuong who reported his discovery of a projectile exposed in front of his flower pot foundry. He said the torrential rains must have exposed the weapon. The father of three has many times found explosive ordnance while tending his rubber farm located on the former U.S. Marine Corps base Con Thien, aka Hill of Angels.  He’s always reporting.

Three kilometers away along Route 74, a 40mm grenade was found on the roadside by a woman who lives in Tri Tien Village. 51-year-old Le Thi Ngoc Nhi said the grenade was so close to the road that it could endanger children. “I must report the M79 munition immediately,” said the mother of four,” said the mother of four, saying the name of the explosive ordnance that local people often call.

Because the M79 munition was already fired, EOD Team Leader Hoang Kim Chien directed his team members to destroy it in place. The team had to evacuate some families to a safe distance and block the road for a while so as to safely detonate the grenade.

The EOD team then moved to Phong Binh Commune to respond to two callouts from a man in Thanh Lich Village and a woman in Le Mon Village. Both of them found explosive ordnance in their gardens after the torrential rains. Another two 40mm grenades were removed and later safely destroyed by the team.

The Explosive Ordnance Survey and Clearance Program of Project RENEW/Norwegian People’s Aid is funded by the U.S. Department of State and the the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

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”.

Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) has worked in Vietnam since 2007 and collaborated with national and provincial authorities to implement capacity development, survey and clearance projects in Hanoi, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue and Quang Binh provinces.