Mines Advisory Group team finds, deactivates three large bombs in Laos

A UXO team recovering a bomb. - MAG

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/Asia News Network): The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) found and detonated three large bombs in Khammuan and Xieng Khuang provinces in a single week.

This week, MAG’s community liaison team received a hotline call reporting two large bombs, one in Khammuan province and one in Xieng Khuang province.

In addition, one of MAG’s clearance teams in Khammuan province found a large bomb in Bualapha district.

According to MAG’s clearance team, the first large bomb weighing 750lb or 340kg was reported to one of MAG’s Japanese government funded community liaison teams by a resident of Saenphan village, Bualapha district, Khammuan province.

It was found when people were digging the ground to make a new fishpond, and was only 20 metres away from their house.

The second bomb, also weighing 750lb or 340kg, was reported to one of MAG’s US government funded community liaison teams by a resident of Sibounheuang village, Khoun district.

It was found when the landowner was extending her farmland to plant arrowroot, and was 70 metres from a main road and a temple.

The third bomb weighing 500lb or 227kg was found by a UK government funded team during clearance of farmland in Phanop village, Bualapha district.

It was found only 450 metres from the village’s residential area.

All three bombs were safely destroyed by MAG’s senior technical experts.

Already in 2022, MAG has identified over 11,407,728 square metres of land as contaminated by unexploded bombs through survey processes.

MAG has also cleared 2,287,466 square metres of land of unexploded bombs, enabling communities in Khammuan and Xieng Khuang to have access to safe land for farming and development.

Through surveys, clearance and roving tasks, MAG has safely destroyed three large air-dropped bombs as well as 3,730 cluster submunitions and other UXO items.

MAG also delivered 96 risk education sessions to 2,019 people. All of this is helping hundreds of people to use their safely land without fear and to re-build their futures.