Aftermath of Hanoi blast

Traffic was slowing down on Le Trong Tan Street as I got closer to the site. Almost all the passing motorcycles and trucks slowed down or stopped, and some of the drivers were taking snapshots with their mobile phones.

The aftermath of the blast was still very visible. Broken concrete walls, windows torn apart, marks from shrapnel on walls and debris on the pavement

People stop to look at the bomb blast site.

People were removing debris from inside the building, broken metal bars, glass from windows, and loading them into a truck. Some candles and incense sticks had been placed on the ground. 

Crater left after the blast.

People clearing debris from the site.

Candles and offering left at the site.

Not speaking any Vietnamese, I couldn’t ask what exactly happened here, but I already knew enough. One local man tried to explain to me using gestures, and showed me where pieces of bodies were lying on the ground after the explosion. Nothing like that could be seen two days after, but it still had strong impact.

The people I saw looked like all the shock and grief was set aside for now. I got the feeling they wanted to rebuild what was destroyed and move on, keeping their sorrow for later.

Offerings left at the bomb blast site.

Damaged concrete buildings indicate the force of the explosion.

Signs of shrapnel can be seen even across the road from the bomb blast site.