240kg bomb found during cemetery construction in central Vietnam

On Wednesday afternoon, the family of Tran Van Phong, a resident of Thuong Long village in Duc Tho Commune, Ha Tinh Province, was clearing land for a cemetery when they discovered a rusted bomb.

Initial assessments found the bomb was 1.53 meters long, 30 centimeters in diameter and weighed about 240 kilograms. It was suspected to be an MK-82 bomb.

The Duc Tho Commune military force immediately cordoned off the area, put up warning signs, erected barriers and assigned militia members to guard the site while reporting the discovery to higher authorities.

The Combat Engineering Department of the Ha Tinh Provincial Military Command is working with local authorities to develop a plan to move the bomb to a safe location for disposal.

The MK-82 is a general-purpose bomb in the U.S. MK-81, MK-82, MK-83 and MK-84 bomb series. It has a streamlined shape, a steel casing and contains 87 kilograms of explosives.

The former Duc Tho District in Ha Tinh was a major transportation and logistics hub that came under heavy U.S. bombing during the Vietnam War's bombing campaign against North Vietnam from 1965 to 1973.