The Military Command of the northwestern province of Dien Bien on February 14 said it had defused a bomb measuring more than 1.4 m in length and about 340 kg in weight. The bomb, left from the war, was found at a home construction site in Na Tau commune, Dien Bien Phu city, on February 9. According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Vietnam is one of countries most contaminated with UXOs. It is estimated that about 800,000 tonnes of UXOs were left across the country after the war ended in 1975, mostly in the central region. Some 6.13 million hectares of land are polluted with or suspected of being polluted with UXOs, accounting for 18.82% of the country’s total area. Since 1975, UXO incidents have killed more than 40,000 people and injured 60,000 others, most of whom were breadwinners of their families or children. (Vietnam Plus)
