Vietnam’s Lao Cai provincial Military Command directed its engineers to successfully detonate a huge bomb, around 750 pounds (340kg), on October 19.
According to Second-in-Command and Chief of Staff of the provincial Military Command Senior Colonel Nguyen Van Do, the bomb was found by workers while clearing ground for the construction of a class of Bao Ha Primary School No.1 in Bao Yen district, Lao Cai province on October 16.
The M117 bomb, 2.16m in length and 408mm in diameter, was dropped by the U.S. Air Force during the war in Vietnam from 1968 to 1972. It contained 20kg explosive.
Upon receiving the news, the People's Committee of Bao Ha commune requested the construction team to stop the ground leveling and Bao Ha Primary School No.1 and Hoa Sen Kindergarten to suspend learning and teaching activities. Two households near the scene were evacuated to safer places. The local authorities the Military Command of Bao Ha district reported and asked the provincial Military Command for assistance in removing and detonating the unexploded bomb.
Since the terrain was rugged and the bomb was far from the detonation area, it was hard for the engineers and militiamen to move the bomb. Thanks to the efforts of the participating forces, the huge bomb was safely moved to a safe place and successfully detonated. (Laocaitv [1], Thanhnien [2])