14/03/2022 Cambogia, Kampong Thom
“If you ever come across anything suspicious like this item, please do not pick it up, contact your local law enforcement agency for assistance”
A Cambodian explosive ordnance disposal diving team has safely removed a war-left unexploded U.S. Mark 82 (Mk 82) bomb from the Stung Sen river in the central Kampong Thom province, a mine clearance chief said on Thursday. Heng Ratana, head of the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC), said the center’s underwater clearance team has recovered the bomb from the river bottom to the shore on Wednesday after a two-day mission. “The CMAC’s underwater clearance team has safely cleared an aerial bomb Mk 82 as the remnants of war,” he said. Ratana said the team found the bomb after fishermen reported to the local authority recently that they felt a large bomb 5 meters underneath the water while fishing in the river. According to the CMAC, the bomb, which was dropped from a U.S. warplane between 1965 and 1973, weighed about 230 kg. A total of 39 aerial bombs were found and safely removed in different provinces throughout Cambodia last year, the CMAC said, adding that most of the bombs were Mk 82 and M117 massive bombs weighing about 340 kg each. Cambodia is one of the world’s countries that suffered most from mines and unexploded ordnances (UXOs) as the result of three decades of war and internal conflicts from the mid-1960s until 1998. An estimated 4 to 6 million land mines and other munitions were left over from the conflicts. The CMAC said that between 1965 and 1973, the United States dropped about 2.7 million tons of explosives on 113,716 locations in the Southeast Asian country. Since 1979 to 2021, a total of 64,964 landmine and UXO casualties were recorded. Of the casualties, 19,808 people were killed and 45,156 were either injured or amputated, according to a report from the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA).
If you find anything that appears to be an explosive device, do not touch it, leave it where it is and call the police. We will contact the appropriate agencies to properly dispose of the item.
Dear editors, Biography of a bomb is aimed at highlighting the danger caused by unexploded bombs. Moreover, the most important aspect is that we work completely non profit, raising awerness about this topic is what drives us. We apologize if we make use of pictures in yours articles, but we need them to put a context in how findings are done. We will (and we always do) cite source and author of the picture. We thank you for your comprehension.
