Off the wire
• S. Africa sees highest July tourist arrival growth from China  • Portugal financial system remains exposed to certain risks: ministry  • Private investments boosting Africa's healthcare: official  • First U.S. area with Zika declared virus free: Florida governor  • UNFPA calls for urgent support for women, girls in northeast Nigeria  • EU offers 129-million-euros support to Southern Mediterranean countries  • U.S. stocks rally ahead of Fed meeting  • Quotable quotes from high-level UN meeting on refugees, migrants  • Some top rise to lift Nairobi bourse key index amid low trading  • 1st LD Writethru: At least 17 killed in DR Congo protests  
You are here: 　 Home

Unexploded ordances kill 2 kids in Laos

Xinhua, September 20, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Unexploded ordances (UXOs) the United States dropped some half century ago killed two Lao children, Lao state-run online newspaper Vientiane Times reported on Monday.

The two brothers named Done, aged 10, and Pone, 9, were killed on Sunday when they struck an unexploded device while digging for crickets in Nongbua village, Bualapha district, Khammuan province, some 250 km southeast of Lao capital Vientiane.

Another 10-year-old boy was seriously injured and is being treated in hospital in Yommalath district. Lao National Regulatory Authority for the UXO/Mine Action Sector (NRA) and World Education will provide his family with financial support.

The NRA will now survey the area to check for the presence of more cluster munitions, according to the report.

The NRA said the boys went out to hunt for crickets at noon. The elder of the two brothers dug into the ground and hit the device, which exploded, killing both boys.

The village is 180 km from the provincial capital and was heavily bombed during the Indochina War. The Lao National Unexploded Ordnance Program (UXO Lao) and Mine Advisory Group (MAG) are continuing to survey the area and destroy any remaining UXO.

The NRA said that so far this year 44 people have been involved in UXO-related accidents, with 40 people suffering injuries and four people being killed.

From 2008-2015, 86 people in Khammuan province suffered the effects of UXO, with 60 being injured and 26 killed.

According to the NRA, Savannakhet province in central Laos is one of the most heavily contaminated areas in Laos. Children account for half of the victims in UXO-related accidents because they are unaware of the dangers posed by unexploded ordnance.

Over the years, thousands of Lao people have been killed or injured, usually farmers tending their fields and children playing.

From 1964-1973, the U.S. dropped more than two million tons of bombs on Laos, more than was dropped during World War II.

About 580,000 secret bombing missions were carried out over Laos. A quarter of all villages are contaminated with UXO, the impact of which is particularly visible in the poorest districts in Laos. Endit