227-kg bomb safely handled in central province of Quang Binh

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Coded MK82, it is 0.274m in diameter and 1.54m in length with about 93kg of explosives inside. Source: Quang Binh newspaper

The Military High Command of the central province joined hands with the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), has successfully disposed of a 1.54-m MK82 general-purpose aircraft bomb found in the Gianh river in Phong Hoa commune of Tuyen Hoa district, according to the command.

Originally dropped as an unguided bomb (sometimes referred to as an ‘iron’ or ‘dumb’ bomb), early versions of the MK82 were only able to hit their target 5.5 percent of the time, requiring large numbers of bombs to be dropped.

The MK82 aircraft bomb has been used by the US military since the 1950s in South East Asia during the war in Vietnam.

A standard MK82 bomb body produces a lethal area of approximately 80m (across) by 30m (along), giving a lethal area of approximately 2,400 m2.

Upon receiving information from the resident, local police mobilised forces to guard the scene and the engineer corps of the Quang Binh Military Command and MAG's team promptly handled the unexploded bomb.

Local villagers on July 18 found a huge bomb exposed in the river. Coded MK82, it is 0.274m in diameter and 1.54m in length. The 227-kg bomb detonator was intact.

Upon receiving information from the resident, local authorities mobilized forces to guard the scene and the engineer corps of the Quang Binh Military Command and MAG's team promptly handled the unexploded bomb.

After consultation and consensus on the disposition measures, the Military High Command and MAG transported the bomb to the disposition site in Tuyen Hoa district and safely demolished there.

It was then moved to a disposal site and safely handled there.

The MAG is registered as a charitable company in the UK. It is a humanitarian and advocacy organization that finds, removes and destroys landmines, cluster munitions and unexploded bombs from places affected by conflict.

The MAG in Vietnam, Norwegian People's Aid - Mine Action and Disarmament and PeaceTrees Vietnam just held a workshop to mark the start of a project to make safe from unexploded bombs more than 13 MILLION sq meters of land in Quang Binh.

This projects aim to maximize the combined value of multiple donor contributions and operational capacity to support mine action coordination in Quang Binh, determine the level of cluster munition contamination in the province, and clear high priority areas to improve community safety and support economic development.

Quang Binh is a region that was heavily bombed during the war in Vietnam — and is still known to be among the most contaminated provinces.

According to statistics released in 2009 by the Defence Ministry’s Technology Centre for Bomb and Mine Disposal and the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, nearly 225,000ha of land across all communes, wards, and townships in Quang Binh was contaminated with unexploded ordnances UXO, accounting for 27.9 percent of the province’s area.

In particular, UXO polluted 96.9 percent of residential land, 95 percent of agricultural land, and 84.3 percent of land under perennial trees.

The provincial command has told locals to immediately notify military offices and local authorities if they find bombs and mines.

MAG has been working in Quang Binh province since 2003. In 17 years, MAG has destroyed nearly 130,000 dangerous items to make safe over 25 million square meters of land to support the socio-economic development of local communities.

More than 227,000 local people have directly benefited from MAG’s work in Quang Binh./.

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