Grandfather severely injured while trying to dismantle unexploded ordnance at home
Bui Manh Thang receiving care after trauma treatment and surgery following the accident.
Trieu Phong District, Quang Tri Province, 30 OCT 2012 – A 67-year-old man, father of a son and two daughters, and three grandchildren, on Monday afternoon suffered serious multiple injuries from unexploded ordnance (UXO) as the old man was attempting to dismantle it and sell it for scrap metal.
The explosion, around 05:00 p.m. yesterday, shocked residents of Nai Cuu Phuong Village, who rushed to the home of Bui Manh Thang and found him seriously wounded on the front porch of his house. Thang was transferred to Quang Tri Hospital for advanced trauma care. Surgeons had to amputate his right hand, and he also suffered severe injuries to his left hand, neck, jawbone, left knee and both feet.
According to Vo Phuong, a villager who lives near the house, Thang had been scavenging war scrap for years for additional income. Many times his grandchildren would be playing in the house while their parents were at work and their grandfather was dismantling UXO. This time, fortunately, the children were at school when the accident happened.
