Massive wartime bomb found in central Vietnam
A 250 kilogram general-purpose bomb from the Vietnam War was unearthed in the central province of Quang Tri on March 2 when local workers were digging a well.
Some workers found the bomb, which has been identified as an MK82, at around three meters underground. They informed members of PeaceTrees Vietnam, a US-based non-profit organization, of the bomb.
Members of PeaceTrees, tasked with unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Vietnam, said the 1.5-meter bomb is highly destructive. They believed it might have been dropped in 1968, the peak year of the Vietnam War during which Quang Tri was a principle battleground.
 |
| A bomb is found three meters deep in the ground in Quang Tri Province March 2, 2016. |
The province is still dealing with the deadly aftermaths of the war.
Around 400,000 pieces of UXO are believed to remain buried across 480,000 hectares of land in Quang Tri. They can be found almost everywhere, from residential areas to gardens and even under local houses.
Official statistics listed more than 7,000 people including children as victims of UXO accidents in the province between 1975 and 2011.
So far, 40,000 people have been killed nationwide and 60,000 injured by UXO, nearly half of them children below 16.
