Lucky Kids

Fortunately, not all accidents involving ERW (Explosive Remnants of War) are fatal. Some cause only minor injuries. The children in the excerpt from the Vietnam office's email to me below are extremly lucky. Other children have not been so lucky.

"(Hoang Thanh Thao-boy and Hoang Thi Thuan-girl) A new accident happened to 02 sibling kids (12 year-old boy and 14 year-old girl) in Trieu Van, a coastal commune in Trieu Phong district of Quang Tri province when they were looking for small scrap iron in a tomb area near their school. The boy, Thao picked up a long aluminum object as big as a finger when he first saw it. Being afraid that the unknown piece is unsafe, his sister, Thuan told him to drop it down. It exploded upon touching the ground and slightly injured both of them.

Thao received some fragments in his face and abdomen while his sister only got fragment in her cheek. They were afterward taken to district health center for first aid and then transferred to Quang Tri General Hospital for treatment."