August 25: One man killed, house down to ashes

The phone rang just as we enter the office after lunch break. Another UXO accident had just happened in Vinh Lam commune, Vinh Linh district. The informant just briefed that it was a serious accident involved a man killed and the house was completely burned down.

The house is located at the end of Tien Lai village; and as we were walking to it, we saw our neighbor, Cliff Allen, the Technical Field Manager of MAG, was walking in the opposite direction. His hands were holding two UXOs. Behind him was another MAG�s deminer carrying more UXOs. They found these within the family�s property.

The scene looked devastating. The house, or it should be more correctly to say what ever remain of the house, were still burning as we stepped in. Smoke was coming up from everywhere. The house had completely burned down to ashes, included furniture, clothes and a motorcycle. Some men were spraying water from a tiny water hose onto burning things to put out the fire; most of the villagers were standing out as more UXOs were suspected to be present. Several MAG�s deminers were checking the back yard of the house with their metal detectors. Three men were wandering along the bamboo fence, searching for any remains of the poor man.


The victim was Truong Quang Quyet, a 52 years old man. The accident happened at 10:15 when he was tampering a large caliber UXO in a corner in the back of the house. At 10 o�clock, Quyet�s wife was watching TV with her daughter when Quyet got home on his motor bike. He propped the bike and went directly to the kitchen. Fifteen minutes later the wife told her daughter to set the table for lunch and just as the girl entered the kitchen, a loud explosion occurred from the back corner of the house. The explosion knocked down the house and set everything on fire. The wife, after gathered her wits, ran out and screamed out loud for help.
The first men arrived at the site rushed into the flaming home and pulled out the panicked girl (luckily, she was unhurt), and looked for the father. They did not find him in the flame. The powerful blast had thrown him out in a red dirt path outside the house, about 20m from the detonation point.
According to the chairman of Vinh Lam commune, this is the worse accident happened in the area for the last 15 years that includes lost of live and property.