(VOVworld) – An exchange on defusing unexploded bombs and mines was held at the National Radio Center in Hanoi on Sunday. There is approximately 600 to 800 thousand tons of unexploded ordnance left by the war in Vietnam which has contaminated 6.6 million hectares of land.

Over the last 30 years, Vietnam has collected and dismantled millions of unexploded bombs and mines and cleared hundreds of thousands of hectares of land for people’s settlement and production. The government has accelerated communications on avoiding unexploded ordnance at schools and residential areas to minimize accidents.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan, acknowledged the work of sappers, ministries, sectors, and localities, and the cooperation of international organizations, and said he hopes to see continued support from individuals and organizations inside and outside the country for landmine clearance and donations to the families of soldiers who have died defusing landmines. Mr. Nhan says: "Of the soldiers killed since 1990, only the relatives of 20 have received charity houses. I call on the education sector to give houses to the relatives of another 20 fallen soldiers as soon as possible. We vow that from now on, if any sapper is killed while defusing a landmine, his relatives will be given a house."

Photos of landmines left from the war at the Museum of Sappers and Miners

At the exchange, VOV and the People’s Army newspaper donated a house, a computer, and a motorbike to Nguyen Thi Ha, wife of soldier Tran Huu Hoa, who died while engaged in landmine clearance on the Ho Chi Minh Highway project.