Old U.S. mortar shell kills 4 kids in southern Vietnam < br />

2012-12-04 12:55:10 GMT+7 (ICT)

HIEU NGHIA, VIETNAM (BNO NEWS) -- An old mortar shell, which was dropped by the United States Air Force on a village in southern Vietnam during the Vietnam War, exploded on Sunday afternoon, killing four young children and injuring several others, local authorities said on Monday.

The incident took place at around noon local time on Sunday when a group of young children was playing near bamboo trees along a rural road in Hieu Nghia, a commune located in the Vung Liem district of Vinh Long province. It happened as a local man was holding a gathering to mark the death anniversary of a relative.

Police said the man, identified as 49-year-old Nguyen Van Lat, had discovered the old mortar shell in 2007 while dredging a canal near his house. But instead of reporting the explosive to authorities, he placed the shell in a bamboo bush and left it there until it was discovered by the children.

Without telling the adults who were at the house, the children picked up the shell, causing it to explode. The powerful blast killed four children, three of them boys between the ages of 6 and 11 and one 4-year-old girl. Four other people, including two men in their 40s and two boys aged 12 and 4, were injured and rushed to area hospitals.

Since the Vietnam War came to an end in April 1975, unexploded ordnance in Vietnam is believed to have killed more than 42,000 people and injured some 60,000 others. Most of the victims died in the first years after the end of the conflict, but old explosives continue to cause casualties.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-12-04

Any responsibility taken for this by the US?

Over 42,000 people killed and 60,000 injured by unexploded ordinance after the end of the conflict? Surely there needs to be some sort of punitive damages sought against those that liberally sprinkle explosive devices over the world with no thought for the future innocents to be killed by their carelessness.

If these sorts of figures were banded around by media following a natural event, a tsunami or an earthquake it would be headline news, a catastrophe, aid would be flooding in. Why is this issue sidelined and ignored? Because it is far less palatable to admit ones mistakes and take responsibility for them?