Mine clearance worker killed in explosion in central Vietnam

By Toan Dao May 19, 2016 | 03:55 am PT

The rice field where the explosion took place. Photo by Quang Tri’s Legacies of War Coordination Center

A cluster bomb explosion in Vietnam’s central province of Quang Tri has killed one mine clearance expert and injured another while they were working for the Norwegian-funded ordnance clearance project RENEW, the project said on Thursday in a statement.

The accident took place on May 18 in Co Luy Village in Hai Ba Commune, Hai Lang District, when the technical survey team was searching for cluster munitions and other explosive weapons in a paddy field where local farmers had just finished harvesting their rice, it said.

Team Leader Ngo Thien Khiet, 45, was fatally injured in the explosion and later died at the provincial hospital. The other operator, Nguyen Van Hao, 43, suffered less serious injuries. Hao has been transferred to Hue Central Hospital for further treatment, RENEW said.

The accident will be investigated to determine exactly what happened to ensure such an incident never happens again, said Nguyen Thi Dieu Linh, operations manager for the 160 staff of the project.

Since the war ended in 1975, cluster munitions, or “bombies” as they are called by local Vietnamese, have accounted for nearly 40 percent of total casualties in Quang Tri, RENEW cited data from Quang Tri’s Legacies of War Coordination Center as saying.