Thanks to Hugh Hosman for forwarding us this report. CPI staff will repsond in the coming days and we will have an update.
Source: Agence France Presse -- English
May 16, 2005 Monday 5:40 AM GMT
LENGTH: 184 words
HEADLINE: Vietnam War-era shell kills two children, injures two
DATELINE: HANOI May 16
Two children were killed and two others seriously injured when a Vietnam War-era grenade exploded, doctors and officials said Monday.
The blast occurred Saturday when the four siblings were playing with a shell they had found near their house in southern Vietnam's Kien Giang province, a commune official told AFP.
The oldest girl aged 12 died on the spot and her seven-year-old brother died in a hospital, the official said.
"The two girls who survived in the accident, aged 10 and nine, are in stable condition now," said a doctor from the provincial hospital.
Their village, Phu My, bordering Cambodia, used to be a target of American mortar and shells during the Vietnam War.
Since the war ended in 1975, more than 38,000 people have been killed and over 100,000 injured as a result of unexploded ordnance, according to Ministry of Public Security figures published by state media.
According to the United States military, more than 15 million tonnes of bombs, mines, artillery shells and other munitions were used during the Vietnam War.
It is estimated that as much as 10 percent of this failed to explode.
I have been aware of the dangers of landmines and UXOs in S.E. Asia for many years. However, it is always a shock and highly distressing to hear that young children are killed and maimed on a regular basis in Vietnam. I would hope that government agencies and NGOs continue to implement more aggressive mines/UXO awareness campaigns, particularly in the more remote and poorer sections of the country.
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